


You Will Bring Honour To Us All

by runningfromrealitytoanime



Series: Haikyuu Disney Aus [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!, Mulan (1998)
Genre: F/M, Female Semi Eita, Gender Swapping, M/M, based on mulan, emperor daichi, he becomes a dude anyways, i just want to make the characters sing, the grand king oikawa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-17
Updated: 2020-05-17
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:35:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 19
Words: 39,388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23700112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/runningfromrealitytoanime/pseuds/runningfromrealitytoanime
Summary: When Seijoh invades the lands of Karasuno, every family in the country is ordered to offer one male into the service of the country as a soldier.When Semi Eita's old father is forced to take up arms and join the army, Eita takes things into her own hands and chooses to disguise herself as a male. She manages to sneak into the army, only to fall hard for the stoic son of the General, Ushijima Wakatoshi.Au of Mulan.
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Miya Atsumu, Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru, Miya Osamu/Suna Rintarou, Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi, Semi Eita/Ushijima Wakatoshi
Series: Haikyuu Disney Aus [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1743604
Comments: 45
Kudos: 135





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Had a mad thought about AUs and for some funny reason, Mulan was one of those that came into mind. I wanted to do a barbie version but have no idea on what to do so testing the waters with this one instead. I can just imagine Semi singing Reflection and Ushijima singing "We are men", I just had to do this haha!
> 
> In this story, Semi is a girl but she disguises herself as a guy to enter the army. Otherwise, everyone is about the same.
> 
> Enjoy!

The Great Wall stood proud and tall, its impressive structure visible even in the night time. Kindachi yawned as he patrolled the top for what may have been the tenth time that night, his eyes drooping from having stayed awake the entire night. He couldn’t wait to go to bed and just lie in until the sunrise, most of the patrols being a waste of time considering no one could possibly even scale the big wall…

A hawk sailed across his head squawking as it knocked off his helmet. Kindaichi yelled as he nearly fell back from the force of it, his spear clattering to the ground as he groaned.

“What the hell?” he groaned as he thought of how Kunimi was going to laugh so hard about this when he gets back to base when he heard the sound of metal hitting the stone. Kindaichi slowly edged to the wall, the metallic shine of a hook gleaming in the night when a few more rose into the air, digging into the stone as Kindaichi realised what was happening.

No one was supposed to be able to scale the freaking Great Wall of Karasuno!!!

“Kunimi! Light the signals!” he yelled as he heard a yell coming from inside their guard station, Kunimi yelling for him to run for it as he was nailed in the head by an enemy soldier. The man growled, his blonde hair visible in the darkness as Kindachi scrambled to the nearest torch. He grabbed it out of its bracket, the flame flickering as he ran to the nearest signal pit when he saw a figure dropping in front of him, the man’s smile invisible even in the darkness as Kindaichi quickly threw the flame into the pit, a string of flames lighting up along the wall as men shouted at each other to intercept the intruders.

The flames illuminated the enemy leader’s face, his brown hair tousled by the strong wind and his face much too charming to be the leader of a bunch of bandits who were toppling Karasuno to the ground. Consisting of only the strongest bandits who came from the far north of the country and led by a man with both charms and wit, the Seijoh clan was a clan that was determined to bring Karasuno to its knees and take over the monarchy.

“Now all of Karasuno knows you’re here. You won’t get what you want, Oikawa,” Kindaichi stammered as he gripped the side of his pants, trying not to shake in fear as the leader of the bandits strode towards him. The smile on his face didn’t quite match the feral look in his eyes as he lifted up the soldier’s chin, Kindaichi squeaking as Oikawa chuckled, “Let’s see what Dai-chan can do about that.”

Kindaichi gasped as he felt a sword ran through him, blood blooming from his wound as he toppled to the ground. He groaned as he tried to grab his fallen weapon, his fingers reaching for it as a man picked up the spear and held it in his face, Kindaichi’s head swimming as he made out on who his attacker was.

Iwaizumi Hajime, the right-hand man of Seijoh and one of Oikawa’s most lethal assassins.

Kindaichi slowly felt the life bled out of him, his vision dimming as he saw Kunimi being tossed to the ground behind him. His friend was unmoving as he was dumped onto the ground, Kindaichi reaching out to touch his fingers one last time when he finally felt the life leaving his body.

‘Sheesh, that was too easy,” Oikawa murmured as he kicked Kindaichi’s body aside. His men had begun to secure the top of the wall; by dawn, the entire wall would be theirs.

“Look at this, Iwa-chan. All of this will soon be ours,” he smiled as Iwaizumis scoffed, “That is if you can beat Ushijima first. That guy is a force to be reckoned with the army at his heels.”

“Let him come, we will show him just who is the strongest in the court.”

…

General Ushijima Utsui threw the doors open to the throne room with a bang, a vein popping in his head as he tried not to think of how ridiculous the whole situation was. Within a single night, Seijoh had taken control of the Great Wall and most of their soldiers with it. With most of their armies being mobilised to deal with the group, it would only be a matter of time until they need to recruit more people into their ranks.

He swept his cape aside as he knelt before Emperor Daichi, his advisor and best friend, Sugawara Koushi standing on his right as the General bowed.

“Your Majesty, Seijoh has crossed the northern border and taken control of the Great Wall. We predict they may invade our territories within the next week, starting with the small villages before moving into the bigger cities. And… Oikawa Tooru, the Grand King is with them.”

Daichi frowned as he recalled the horror stories of Oikawa Tooru, a man who built his clan from nothing and ravaged the countries beyond their borders before setting his sights on Karasuno. Karasuno was a land of rich and plenty, having merged with the other countries of Shiratorizawa, Nekoma and Fukurodani years ago to enter into an era of peace and harmony.

“Impossible, no one could possibly climb over that freaking huge wall!” Suga gasped as Daichi reminded himself to punish Suga afterwards for the lack of proper language.

“I suggest set up defences around the royal palace immediately. If I could mobilise them now….”

“No. send the troops to protect the people. Suga, see to that,” Daichi said as Suga bowed his head low, “As you wish, your excellency.”

Daichi wanted to roll his eyes at how Suga always said his title mockingly. Even though they had passed the boundaries of being advisor and Emperor, Suga still liked to get on his nerves whenever they were on official business. The people of Karasuno court were open about their relationship, but that didn’t stop Suga from taking things a little over the top.

Daichi rose from his throne, his bones creaking from having sat in it for hours. He may only be in his early twenties, but he was beginning to feel like an old man from all the stress the job was giving him along with Suga egging him alone.

“Send out messengers to each province in the country. Call up reserves and prepare the troops. Every family shall offer a male to the service of the army, no exceptions.”

“Yes, your Majesty, but I believe the troops of Shiratorizawa are sufficient to stop the Grand King and his army,” the General said. Shiratorizawa was a clan that has bred many brave and powerful soldiers across the generations, which was one of the reasons why Karasuno had allowed them int their fold. Utsui’s own son, Wakatoshi was a promising young man who was destined to take the lead in the Army in the future, but the boy still much more to learn about the world.

“I’m not taking any chances. A single grain of rice can tip the scale. One man may mean the difference between victory and defeat,” Daichi said as the General bowed low before being dismissed. As the doors slammed shut behind him, Daichi sank into the throne, letting out a huge sigh as Suga swooped in to begin giving him a shoulder massage.

“Suga..”

“You must be tired. How about you retire for the night and I will see to you getting a good rest,” Suga winked as Daichi groaned. The other man was going to be the death of him, Daichi reaching to kiss him gently on the lips as Suga giggled against him.


	2. You Will Bring Honor to Us All

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Semi Eita is not your ordinary girl and she does not want to be wed off to a man whom she doesn't even know!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the next chapter. I'm going to be updating this daily alongside my other story of IwaOi based in a Hunger Games au so if you like that, check it out!
> 
> Had a lot of shits and giggles rewatching the series and imagining which character from Haikyuu would be suitable for each of the roles so have fun!
> 
> Enjoy!

Semi Eita hated being a maiden waiting to be wed off.

Every single day, she had to go through the same ritual of going to classes to learn about etiquette, tea pouring (why can’t they pour the damn thing themselves?!), dressing up (she felt like she was going to suffocate at the thought of wearing another of those wretched dresses!) and the list goes on. While her family had been quite liberal in allowing her to do things other families may find unthinkable for a girl of her status to be doing such as riding horses or climbing trees, their patience on her finding a husband was growing thinner by the day.

Eita raised yet another brush as she painted the words onto her wrist, black inky lines flowing from the tip onto pale skin as she murmured the words under her breath.

“Quiet and demure.”

Hell she was quiet and demure. She would wrangle any guy to the ground that try to hit on her on any given day, even once clobbering a guy until his teeth fell out. She had been grounded for a good month for that, although she didn’t feel sorry considering he had been trying to shove his tongue down her throat.

“Graceful.”

That, she could pull it off.

“Polite.”

If the person wasn’t being a dick.

“Delicate.”

She thinks guys these days were way more delicate than her. She could ride a horse without a saddle and men who rode on the finest saddles would complain about their asses hurting for the rest of the week.

“Refined.”

Possibly. She had been told she was quite the beauty, even though she thought her ash blond hair was a bit out of place in the town she lived in. Her eyes often sent dagger like glares at people more often then sweet gazes than most girls her age were expected to do.

“Poised.”

She didn’t slouch so she should tick that off right?

“Puntual!”

The rooster crowed in the background as Eita swore, kicking up her bedsheets as she scrambled from her bed and spilling ink all over. Her mother was going to scream at her for being late again, especially when today was the one day she couldn’t avoid to screw up.

The day she is matchmade by the most annoying matchmaker in town, Madam Kutakuchi. There was no wonder that woman was single; she ran her tongue with way more vulgar language than a drunk man would and every man that ever tried to court her just got their asses handed to them with her words. Nevertheless, she did a good job matchmaking maidens across the town.

Eita might just be the first one she might lose all hope in.

Eita rushed into the kitchen, nearly knocking some bowls over as she rummaged for the herbs her father needed for his tea. She had to leave for town in about an hour for the matchmaking ceremony and she wasn’t about to be late for something that had her entire family name riding on it. The Semi family was well known across the region as her father was once a war hero who retired due to old age. He ended up marrying late and was lucky to have Eita as his only child, his wife too old to risk getting pregnant another time.

“Mochi! Mochi-chan!” Eita called as a tiny little dog came running up to her. The tiny thing bonked its head against a cabinet, whining as Eita picked it up and gave it a little kiss on the head.

“There there little thing. Can you be a sweetheart and feed this to the chickens?” she cooed as she set Mochi to the ground. She grabbed a bone and tied it onto a stick, latching it onto the dog’s back before attaching a sack of chicken feed to the back. It was a trick she learnt when she got too lazy to feed the chickens, letting the dog go on its merry way before changing into proper clothes and making the tea to bring up to her father.

Semi Hiroki was kneeling before the tombstone of their ancestors as she walked in with the tea, his head bowed as he prayed to them. all around him, chickens were busy squawking and pecking away at the chicken feed that had been scattered across the floor, the old man sighed as he clapped his hands in prayer once more.

“Please. Please help Eita find a match today,” he prayed as Eita rolled her eyes.

Yep, she would need all the help she could get.

“Father, I brought your tea,” she smiled as she poured the tea into the cup. Her father gratefully took it, sipping it as he leaned against his cane. The injury from the war had left him with a limp and old age was doing well on him, disease keeping up with him as the days went by.

“Eita. Please make sure the matchmaking goes smoothly today. I cannot be around to protect you forever and…”

“I know. I know. I need to protect the family honour. But don’t worry, I will father. I promise,” she smiled as she reached to kiss him on the cheek before grabbing the side of her kimono to run back down the steps.

“Wish me luck!” she called as she ran down, her father sighing as she heard him mumbling to himself about having to pray some more to the gods as she groaned, “This is going to be a very long day.”

…

By the time Eita arrived at the bathhouse, her mother was standing outside, groaning at the wreckage her grandmother had caused. Eita’s grandmother was a small woman with a big personality who believed in superstitions a little bit too much for comfort. Eita slowly lead her horse, Azumane through the wreckage before stepping down, her grandmother smiling as she held up a tiny wooden cage with what appeared to be a cricket inside.

“Eita? Where have you been?! The matchmaking ceremony starts in half an hour and we need to get you cleaned and…” Semi Haruna groaned as she grabbed her daughter by the elbow and yanked her inside the bathhouse. The attendants were scowling at how late she was, Eita not a bit sorry since she wanted no part in this matchmaking ceremony whatsoever as a plump woman grabbed her by the wrist and began stripping her off her clothes.

_“ This is what you give me to work with? Well, honey, I've seen worse. We're going to turn this sow's ear into a silk purse.”_

Eita shrieked as she was dumped into a washtub, the water ice cold as she floundered in the water. She was beginning to wish she had gone there a bit earlier as she felt her head getting dunked into the water, the women working their way through her hair as they dumped various hair products onto her head.

_“We'll have you, washed and dried. Primped and polished till you glow with pride. Just my recipe for instant bride. You'll bring honor to us all.”_

Eita gagged on soap bubbles as she felt her body getting scrubbed down when she remembered a very important thing. She quickly pulled her arm back just as her mother was about to scrub it, although the older woman had already caught sight of the ink on her skin as she frowned, “Eita, what’s this?”

“Uh, notes? In case I forget something?”

Haruna sighed as her daughter laughed sheepishly, knowing full well how her daughter had a bad habit of not studying at all and not being great at memorising things as her grandmother plonked the cage against her head, the cricket inside chirping in protest as she said, “Hold this. We’re going to need more luck than I thought.”

Eita’s hair screamed in protest as it was yanked from side to side. While she had always hated the fact of maintaining long hair, her parents disagreed over a girl keeping short hair like a boy. Now she was paying the price as she felt the roots of her hair screaming, her head already aching from being pulled left to right as the women got her hair ready. And they hadn’t even done the clothes yet!

_“Wait and see, when we're through…”_

_“Boys will gladly go to war for you.”_

_“With good fortune and a great hairdo, you'll bring honor to us all.”_

Eita was ushered out of the bathhouse towards the dressmaker’s shop nearby. All around she could see young women getting ready for their special day, families helping apply make up to their faces or just giving them advice on what to do with Madam Futakuchi.

_“A girl can bring her family great honor in one way. By striking a good match, and this might be the day.”_

As soon as she entered the shop, Eita was swept in a whirl of fabric as the women worked on her kimono. Since she was on the flat side, they did everything they could to make her chest a bit more prominent, the pads hard against her skin as she tried to breath. Her waist was clinched as they tied the red obi around her waist, the kimono patterned with the swans of the Semi family adorning it in purple and cream ascents.

_Men want girls with good taste_

_Calm_

_Obedient_

_Who work fast-paced_

_With good breeding_

_And a tiny waist_

_You'll bring honor to us all._

_We all must serve our Emperor_

_Who guards us from Seijoh._

_A man by bearing arms_

_A girl by bearing sons._

Finally, Eita was in the phase of applying make-up. White powder chalked her face as the make-up artist applied it to her skin. She tried not to sneeze as a cloud of powder filled the air with a mix of perfume entering the fray, her eyes beginning to water as she felt eyeliner and mascara being added to her eyes. She felt a swab of a brush painting her lips in a red colour, making her lips seem more plump as she looked into the mirror.

_“When we're through, you can't fail.  
  
_

_Like a lotus blossom, soft and pale  
  
_

_How could any fellow say, "No sale"?  
  
_

_You'll bring honor to us all!”_

Haruna smiled as she stroked her daughter’s face. Haruna was a mirror image of her daughter, sporting the same ashy hair as hers, although Eita had inherited her father’s eyes. She wished she had gotten her mother’s blue eyes instead; they looked less fierce than her father’s.

“There, you’re ready,” she said as she gently tucked a comb into her bun. Several small swans were hung from the end of it, tinkling as they rattled against each other.

“Not yet!” her grandmother chided as she stuffed an apple into Eita’s face. Eita barely managed to bite it with her teeth before it fell onto the ground, her grandmother smiling as she tucked something into the waist of her obi.

_“An apple for serenity  
A pendant for balance  
Beads of jade for beauty  
You must proudly show it  
Now, add a cricket, just for luck, “ her grandmother smiled as she gave her backside a small slap, “And even you can't blow it!”_

As Eita stood ready for the matchmaker, her umbrella in hand, she sighed as she walked through the doors, tipping her head back as she let the words spill through her lips.

_Ancestors, hear my plea,  
Please don't let me make a fool of me  
And to not uproot my family tree  
Keep my father standing tall._

_Scarier than the Undertaker,  
We are meeting our matchmaker!  
Destiny, guard our girls,  
Help our future as it fast unfurls  
Please look kindly on these cultured pearls  
Each a perfect porcelain doll ..._

_Please bring honor to us  
Please bring honor to us  
Please bring honor to us  
Please bring honor to us  
Please bring honor to us all!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing this while listening to Mulan songs in Japanese is the best hahahaha! Can roughly understand the Japanese version since I kinda memorised the English version already.


	3. Reflection

The doors to the matchmaking house slammed open to reveal a very annoyed Futakuchi Kenji, mistress of the house and the one who was going to match make each maiden kneeling before her. Eita prayed very hard that she wouldn’t be the first one to go in, her heart hammering as Hinata yammered to be released from his cage as Futakuchi unfurled her scroll and began to read.

“Semi Eita.”

Shit.

“Present!” she called, raising her hand as some of the maidens tried to stifle some giggles as Futakuchi tutted, “Speaking without permission.”

She swore under her breath as she followed Futakuchi into the building, the woman slamming the doors behind her. Futakuchi was very tall and had a sneering look that made just about every person cry. Her tongue was sharp and unyielding in trash talking people; his predecessor, Moniwa had despaired at the fact Futakuchi was the only one available for the job when she retired to be with her husband and grandchildren.

Futakuchi used the end of her brush to raise Eita’s head, her eyes scanning Eita’s as she clicked her tongue, “Too skinny… not good for bearing sons.”

“You want me to spread my legs for you and show how wide my hips are?” she swore under her breath as she prayed Futakuchi hadn’t heard it. While Eita had been told she was pretty skinny, she looked extra skinny that day because of how tight the ladies from earlier had wrapped her up in silks and cloth. She could feel her bladder screaming to be set free as she felt a tiny rattle coming from her side, the near silent creak of the wicker cage opening as Hinata squeaked, “Freedom!”

“Why you little,” Eita swore as she snatched at the cricket, the tiny thing sticking its tongue at her as Eita tried to grab it. She nearly tripped on her skirt as she lunged for the cricket, barely able to get back in place when Futakuchi turned. Without thinking, she stuffed Hinata into her mouth, the cricket screaming in protest as Eita prayed she wouldn’t swallow it as Futakuchi snapped, “Recite the Final Admonition!”

He tapped her hip as Eita smiled weakly, swiping her fan from her side to flip it open. She used it as cover to spit Hinata out of her mouth, the cricket chirping profanities at her as it sailed through the air, Eita using the chance to glance at the kanji she had inked into her skin as she cleared her throat. Futakuchi was staring too closely for comfort, sweat beading down her brow as she recited.

“Fulfill your duties, calmly and..” she quickly glanced at her notes to find out in horror that they had been smudged from her encounter in the bath, “respectively. Um, reflect before you snack (oh shit).. ACT! This shall bring you honour and glory.”

She babbled the final bit of the Admonition before letting out a sigh. She barely got her breath for two seconds when Futakuchi grabbed her wrist right where she had written the notes onto her skin, her mind going into hyperdrive of her finding out as Futakuchi grabbed her fan instead, turning it the other way around to see if anything had been written on it.

“Hmmm… interesting,” she snarled as Eita giggled weakly, Futakuchi’s grip on her wrist growing stronger as she tugged her towards the table for what she hated the most, the freaking tea pouring bit. As Futakuchi released her wrist, she stared in horror as she saw the ink that had rubbed off onto Futakuchi’s hand, her entire palm smeared with it as she snatched the teapot and turned the handle towards Eita.

“Now, pour the tea. To please your future in-laws, you must demonstrate a sense of dignity,” she said as she ran her fingers across her mouth to make a full-on moustache. Eita was so engrossed in the spectacle before her that she poured tea beside the cup instead of into it, quickly correcting her error when she saw a set of antennae peeping from the teacup.

There sat Hinata taking a dip in the tea as though it was in an onsen. Eita made a grab for the teacup as Futakuchi picked it up, Eita trying to stammer out the words as Futakuchi snapped at her, “And stay silent!”

“Don’t blame me if you choke on cricket juice,” Eita thought to herself as Futakuchi took a sniff from the tea, letting out a satisfied sigh when she saw Hinata letting out a squeak and flying into Futakuchi’s face, sending the woman tumbling onto the ground with a yell and a string of curses, the tea spilling onto her bosom as she shouted, “What in the flying shit is this?!”

“I can explain…”

“You stupid clumsy… what the hell?!” Futakuchi yelled as Hinata squirmed in her bosom, the tiny creature darting underneath the fabric as Futakuchi tried to figure out what was going on, all the while cursing and screaming. She tripped before falling onto her butt, landing directly on top of the basket of coals on the ground as her butt began to smoke. Eita gawked as Futakuchi ran around the room in full panic, the profanities increasing tenfold as she screamed, “Hey! Get your ass over here and put the freaking thing out!”

Eita did what she could and snatched her fan from her waist, fanning the smoke when she thought, “Oh shit, fanning makes the smoke go…”

Futakuchi screamed as her butt went into full flames, running around the room like a headless chicken as Eita tried not to laugh. She hated the woman for how rude she was and having the power to partner her with a stranger for life but she couldn’t help but feel a little bit sorry that her ass was on fire.

Futakuchi ran for the door, slamming them open as the crowd gawked at the sight, Futakuchi’s screams rising as she screamed, “PUT IT OUT DAMMIT!”

Eita finally grabbed the teapot and splashed tea all over her face, the fire on Futakuchi’s butt finally dying. Eita gave a meek bow before running for the steps, with Hinata in tow as the tiny bug leapt into the cage and slammed it shut, letting out a shrill cry when Futakuchi came over and threw the teapot onto the ground in rage. Her face was covered with running ink, making her look like an oni as she shouted.

“You are a disgrace! You may look like a bride, but you will never bring your family honour!” she yelled as she stomped back into the house, screaming that all matchmaking for the day has been cancelled. All the maidens slowly left the plaza, most of the throwing death glares are Eita for screwing up their once in a lifetime opportunity as the poor girl’s mother gently led her home. Her grandmother followed behind, patting her back at how hysterical the thing was. Eita would have laughed along with her if it hadn’t involved the family’s future and honour.

How much she had thought that things would be better if she were a boy. She always acted like one, was nearly as strong as one, did everything a boy would do. She could even get a spot in the army if she wished since her father had trained her in the art of sword fighting and the bow, her skills top-notched for those her age.

But because she was a girl, she couldn’t do anything more than bear sons and sit at home like a good wife.

Eita’s mother and grandmother left her in the garden to tell her father of the news.

“Eita-chan, I will bring some dango for you later so please, smile a bit,” she said as she patted Eita’s cheek, some of her face powder coming off onto her fingers as Eita nodded, “Thanks, Obachan.”

As the older woman tottered towards the house, Eita turned to sit by the small pond in the garden, her hands running through her ash blonde hair as she felt a few tears sting her eyes. She gently unhooked the wicker cage from her side, opening the cage to let Hinata hop onto the side of the pond. The little insect chirped as it stared at her, Eita motioning at it to go free.

_Look at me ... I will never pass for a perfect bride  
Or a perfect daughter  
Can it be?  
I'm not meant to play this part?  
Now I see  
That if I were truly to be myself  
I would break my family's heart._

_Who is that girl I see  
Staring straight back at me  
Why is my reflection someone I don't know  
Somehow I cannot hide  
Who I am, though I've tried  
When will my reflection show  
Who I am inside?  
When will my reflection show  
Who I am, inside?_

Eita covered her hands in her face as she let out a few sobs, her emotions getting the better of her as her tears ruined her makeup. Normally she wouldn’t care about such things but now, she just wanted to please her family. Now, she couldn’t even do such a thing.

She heard the tapping sound of her father’s walking stick approaching her, his mouth set in a grave line as he moved to sit next to her. Eita truly loved her father and to think she had disappointed him in such a manner made her sick in the stomach. The older man slowly sat next to her, Eita turning away to prevent her father from seeing her look so messy as he sighed.

“Eita, what beautiful blossoms we have this year. But oh, that one is late. But I bet it will be the most pretty,” he said as Eita slowly turned to see the cherry blossoms in full bloom. One of the buds was unopened, its bud tightly shut as the others welcomed the spring. Her father gently reached out to pluck one of the flowers, setting it into her hair as he smiled, his hand reaching to stroke her face as he said, “I bet when that flower blooms, it will be the most beautiful of all. Eita, I know you can be a little rowdy and rough around the edges, but know that I will always love you and I want you to be happy.”

Eita smiled as her father reached to hold her in his arms, Eita moving to lean into him when they heard the sound of the drums being beaten in the distance. Eita’s father quickly got to his feet, motioning for her to stay inside as he walked out, the sound of hoofbeats filling the air as Eita scrambled to the side of the wall and onto the rooftop, not caring if she tore her clothes as she swung her leg up onto the tiles and onto the roof.

Down below, she could see a small crowd gathering around three men on horses. One of them was dressed in finer clothing, those of an official from the Kingdom of Karasuno. He had a kind smile on his face, silver hair pushed back and a beauty mark on his right cheek. Sugawara Koushi, aid to the Emperor and also said to be his lover. He had two soldiers with him, one of them bald and snarling at the crowd while his partner swung his feet in his saddle, whistling a tune as Suga sighed.

“Tanaka. Nishinoya. Please cooperate and let me do the announcement.”

“Aye sir,” they both murmured as they sat in rapt attention, Suga unfurling the scroll in his hands as he turned to the crowd to speak.

“Citizens! I bring a proclamation from the Imperial City. Seijoh has invaded Karasuno! By the order of the Emperor, one man must serve in the Imperial Army,” Suga cleared his throat as the crowd murmured, some of the men moving to comfort their family as Suga spoke the first of the family names.

“The Akatsuki family! The Suzuki family! The Masamune family!”

One by one, men from each of the families stepped forward to take a scroll from the soldiers, some of them returning to grieving families as they tried to comfort them and promise them a safe return. Suga looked torn between trying to comfort them and following through with his duty, calling through all the names until Eita heard his family name being called.

“The Semi family.”

Eita scrambled down as soon as she saw her father stepping forward, leaving his walking stick in his wife’s hands as he walked forward. Eita quickly rushed down the roof, groaning when she felt her ankle cut into stone as she jumped down. Her father was in no condition to fight; he had an ailing illness and he had a limp from an old injury.

Hadn’t the war taken enough from him already?

“Father, don’t!” Eita yelled as she stepped in between her father and Suga, Tanaka just about to hand him a scroll.

“Please. Spare my father. He had already fought in the past war…”

“Eita, get away,” her father hissed as Suga untucked his fan from his side, moving to place it under Eita’s chin as he tutted, “Such a rebellious girl. I admire your dedication and love to your father, but the country comes first and your father has chosen to step forward.”

“But…”

“Eita. You have dishonoured me,” her father spoke as Eita felt her heart drop. She felt herself slowly being pulled to the side by her mother, Haruno whispering to her that everything would be ok as Eita tried not to cry as Suga spoke, “Report to Shiratorizawa camp.”

“Yes sir,” Hiroki said as he bowed low, Suga moving to continue calling out more names. Her father moved to walk back into the house, the limp in his step visible as Eita begged for him to not go.

If he went, he may never come back.

If he never came back, who was going to take care of her and her family?


	4. Short hair

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wrote quite a bit of it already (and watched half of the movie a little bit at a time to get inspiration for it). 
> 
> Enjoy!

Dinner was a very sombre affair.

After receiving the letter to go to Shiratorizawa camp the next morning, Eita had followed her father to where he stored his samurai armour. She remembered him showing it to her when she was a child, engravings of swans on the hilt of the katana as he held it in front of her.

“Can I wear it?” she had asked as he chuckled, “Be glad you don’t have to my child. Only men go to war, so you don’t need to worry about getting your hands stained with blood.”

Now as she watched her father unsheathing his sword, she felt the determination of an old warrior rising from beneath. He slowly moved the sword in slow but fluid motions, the whistling sound of the metal cutting through the air as he brought it down. He looked as graceful as a swan in it, his hands moving in quick succession with each move, until he let out a grunt of pain and collapsed to the ground.

Eita stopped herself from rushing into the room, knowing there would be trouble if she ever did so. Her hands flew to her mouth as she tried not to look at the sight of her father crumpled on the ground, trying his best to steady himself against a pillar. During the war, he had been injured badly, told that he would never be able to walk right again. Normally, he would be ok with just his medicine and walking stick but watching him trying to even perform a few moves with a sword, it was enough to send waves of pain through his body.

He couldn’t go to war like that.

Not in that condition.

Over dinner, Eita silently poured tea for her family members as they sat around the table. Thunder rolled outside, the sky a murky grey as it descended into night. The wind howled as it hit the windows, threatening to blow them open as the family ate, Eita barely touching her food as she thought of how she was going to tell her father.

Sending young men with no experience in war was one thing.

Sending veterans with injuries is asking them to commit hara-kiri.

“Eita?” Haruno murmured as Eita slammed the teapot she had been holding onto the table, some droplets spilling onto the table as she snapped, “You shouldn’t have to go! There are plenty of young men to fight for Karasuno! You can’t go with your body like this!”

“It's my duty and honour to protect my country and my family.”

“So you will die for honor?” Eita yelled as she slammed her hand onto the table. She always hated the idea of everything revolve around honor; what was the point of holding something like that when you don’t even treasure your own life or your family’s feelings?

“I will die doing what’s right! I know my place, Eita! Its time you learn yours,” Hiroki snarled as he glared at his daughter, his eyes clearly telling her that the argument was now over.

“My apologies, father. I will now retire,” she muttered as she ran out of the dining room, moving to run out of the house and into the garden. Her bare feet carried her towards a large fox statue she always found to give her peace and calm whenever she was in self-doubt, crawling into the small space that it had in between its legs for shelter as the rain began to pour from the skies in buckets. Lightning flashed soon after, Eita not caring about it as she was soon soaked to the skin.

As the rain got heavier, she slowly leaned out to stare at her reflection in the water. Looking right back at her was a young maiden who couldn’t do anything to protect her family from war or secure herself a husband to rid herself of their worries. She stroked her long hair, wishing that it was short and that she could be a man who could protect his family. She was capable of what a man could do so why… why did no one want to give her the chance?

Light flickered from within the house as Eita looked up to see her parents moving around in their bedroom. The shadows of her father and mother embracing each other before bed for what may be the last time played out before her eyes, Eita’s fingers curling around her skirt as she watched her mother weep from inside. It broke her heart at how she couldn’t do anything to help them.

She was helpless.

She couldn’t do anything to help her family.

She…

Lightning flashed in the sky as Eita’s fingers ran through her hair, running through the wet locks as an idea sprung into mind. If she followed through with the plan, it could mean her getting executed for treason. Women were not allowed to serve in the army and if the men were to discover who she really was… death wouldn’t be the worst thing that could happen to her.

Slowly peeling herself from the statue, Eita made her way to the shrine of her ancestors, slowly lighting up the incense from the tray and clapping her hands together. For once in her life, she was actually earnestly praying to the gods and her ancestors.

She needed all the help she could get.

…

Eita started by going to her parents' room. She tiptoes inside, trailing rain in her wake as she heard her parents snoring inside. Eita slowly picked up the scroll on the bedside table, placing her hair ornament in its place as she looked at her parents one more time. She had never left the village before, let alone outside of the town, but knowing that it was to protect the ones she loved, she was going to have to risk it all.

“Father. Mother. Thank you for everything you’ve done for me,” she whispered as she bowed low to them, her long hair covering her face for the last time as she stood upright, moving to the room where her father stored his armour and weapons. She removed the katana from its stand, removing the blade from its sheath as the sound of metal scraping against leather filled the air. Eita loved the sound of the katana being pulled out of its sheath; it sounded like music to her ears.

Slowly, she took her hair in her hands, bunching it up as she brought the katana to it. She took a breath as she ran the sword through her hair, ashy blond locks falling to the ground as she lifted her head. In the glass of the window, she could see her reflection and she had to admit, with her flat chest and lithe build, she could pass as a male.

With a bit more modifying and tidying, her hair came to rest slightly below the nape of her neck. Her hair now was much wavier than before since there wasn’t any weight to hold them down, a cowlick even sticking out from the top of her head. As much as she tried to press it down, it kept coming back up so Eita couldn’t be bothered as she shifted her attention to the cupboard where the armour was.

Putting it on was much more of a hassle since she was doing it alone. While she had seen her father do it in front of her a few times and even helped him into it, it didn’t make things any easier as she struggled to find the right places to tie the knots. The armour weighed a ton, her body aching from just wearing it. She packed the helmet away in a bag along with a few supplies to last her the journey, a map to the camp in hand as she walked to the stables.

She slowly opened the door to the stable where Azumane was asleep. The brown horse slowly looked up from its slumber at the precise moment lightning hit the ground, lighting Eita up as Azumane bucked up. It took a while for Eita to calm down the horse, whispering that it was just her. Once the horse nuzzled up to her, it sensed her scent, finally calming down enough for her to saddle it and hoist all her supplies onto its back.

The rain continued to pour outside as horse and rider stepped out. Eita shivered in the cold, hoping she wouldn’t catch a cold in this weather as Azumane nudged her with its nose. She gently rubbed his nose, promising some hay later on after the journey before closing his stable door. She leapt onto the saddle, holding onto the reins as she squeezed her ankles into his sides. The horse neighed as it charged to the door, kicking it open for them to ride out onto the road and into the night.

There was no turning back for Eita.

She was no longer Semi Eita, daughter of Semi Hiroki and Haruno.

She was Semi Eita, son of the Semi family and the heir to the family name.

…

Semi Yuki had always been a woman who didn’t follow the rules.

She married the man she loved instead of being matchmade against the wishes of her parents, learned how to do things a man would do like riding horses and even fighting with a sword. She passed on her ideologies of freedom and growth to her children, although she felt her son shielded her only grandchild too much for her own comfort.

Eita had been a miracle born to her parents as her father had been old when he wed Haruno and she had complications in giving birth with her age. Doctors thought she would never be able to have a child, let alone an heir to the Semi family name but after much trial and error, Eita was born into the world. Yuki’s husband, Eita’s grandfather had disapproved of the child being a girl and wanted her to grow up as a man, something that Hiroki disapproved of greatly. While Yuki’s husband wanted to continue the Semi family name, Hiroki was just happy he was able to have a child of his own.

Despite that, he showered the girl with a lot of love and protection, barely bringing her out of the village. Yuki took it upon herself to train her young granddaughter on how to stand up for herself, teaching her how to ride a horse and even sneaking in some sword practice. Eita was a fast learner, watching how the other boys fought with swords in the street or seeing her father practice in his room. If Eita had been born a boy, she would be a very good heir and son.

One thing that Eita took after her grandmother was her rebellious streak, and Yuki feared that one day, that would be the death of her.

So when she woke up with the nagging feeling that something was wrong, she wasn’t surprised to find her granddaughter’s room empty.

“Eita is gone!” she cried out as she burst into her son’s room. Hiroki slowly stirred from his sleep, rubbing his eyes as Haruno stirred beside her husband. Yuki reached out to take the hair ornament Eita had worn earlier that day in place of the scroll Hiroki had been given, her son slowly realising what had happened as he snatched the scroll from his mother’s hands and ran out of the house.

“That stupid girl. Does she want to get herself killed?!” he yelled as he burst through the front doors, hobbling as fast as he could to the front gate before collapsing into the mud. He sobbed as he held onto the hair ornament, now caked with mud and one of the glass swans having fallen off. Lightning shone above his head, illuminating the open gates of the house that now flapped in the wind, waiting to be closed.

“You need to go after her. She’s going to be killed,” Haruno whispered as she knelt beside her husband, trying to get him to his feet as he lay there, unwilling to move from his spot.

Eita would not stand a chance in the army. The moment she is found out…

It will be death on her.

“If I reveal her, she will be,” Hiroki whispered as his wife sobbed, clinging onto him as he tried to support her. He always knew Eita would want to do the right thing but now… he might have just sent her to the grave.

_“I know my place! Its time you knew yours!”_ his own words echoed across his mind as Hiroki finally broke down, sobbing into his wife as he could only pray for his daughter’s safety.

At the front door, Yuki hung her head as she shone her lantern ahead, looking up to the shrine where the ancestors, including her husband were buried as she prayed, “Ancestors. Hear our prayer. Watch over Eita.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some comments and kudos would be nice...


	5. Atsumu, awaken!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had a hard time trying to pick out who Mushu should be but ended up with Atsumu as you can see. Wanted it to be Kageyama or Hinata but meh.
> 
> Enjoy!

The family shrine was lit with the single flame of the incense stick Eita had lit a few hours prior. The wind buffeted into the building, slowly putting out the flame as the words of Semi Yuki wafted through the air. The once still air now stirred with soft purple light, the kanji on the first tombstone shining in the darkness before bursting into life, streaks of purple streaking into the sky before coming together to form the body of a large man, his white hair shimmering as he formed a staff in the shape of a swan’s neck in his hand.

Semi Suzuki, the matriarch of the Semi family and the one person who had to be woken up from his sleep and drinking days in the afterlife. He sighed as he rubbed his temples, his gaze moving to look at the small metal fox hanging in the air where Eita had placed her incense stick earlier as he snapped his fingers.

“Atsumu, awaken!” he rumbled as sparks burst from the fox. The fox let out a string of curses as he slammed into the ground, his golden fur sticking up as he snarled, “What's the big idea man?! I thought you demoted me and didn’t need me to do any of your stupid ass work right now! So if you’ll excuse me, I have a rerun of my drama I need to get back to,” Atsumu snarled as he scratched the back of his ear with his back leg.

“You may be demoted but you need to fulfil your duty in…”

“Ringing the damn gong? Anyone can ring the damn thing! Oh right! You can’t because you’re a freaking ghost! Ha ha ha!” Atsumu snickered as Suzuki glowered at him.

“Be grateful you are even standing here now. The Inarizaki gods have guided us for generations and because you’re the twin of the fox god Osamu…”

“Yeah yeah, I get the drift. It's because of him that you can’t kick me out or else his power would just go down the shit. Fine fine I will ring the freaking gong so hurry up with your meeting so I can get back to my drama!” Atsumu snapped as he stood on his hind legs, grabbing the gong with his front paws and slamming them into the metal as he hollered, “Alright people! Up up! Rise and shine, you old hags and farts! You’re way past the sleeping beauty mark trust me! You have all eternity to sleep so wake up you old bastards!”

The ancestors slowly rose from their tombstones, most of them scowling at the god as he threw various insults at them. Atsumu was known to have quite the sharp tongue and ever since his demotion to gong ringer, his vocabulary for flowery insults had skyrocketed given the amount of free time he’s got in his paws.

“Alright? Am I don’t now? Good, let me flick on my tablet and watch my shit,” Atsumu said as he slunk off into the corner and popped opened his tablet to begin watching the latest series of “Haikyuu”. Suzuki groaned as he turned to his fellow deceased family members, raising his cane to get their attention when one of the women began to speak. She had to be his great-granddaughter from his sister’s side or something along the lines.

“I knew it! I knew it! That Eita was a trouble maker from the start!”

“Don’t look at me! She got it from your side of the family!”

“She’s just trying to protect her father!”

“But if she’s discovered, Semi Hiroki would be forever shamed. Dishonour would come to the family. Traditions would disintegrate!”

“Not to mention they’ll lose the farm.”

“Do these idiots even have a farm?” Atsumu muttered to himself as the fight went on.

“My children never caused such trouble; they all became acupuncturists!

“Well, we can’t all be acupuncturists!”

“No, your great-granddaughter had to be a cross-dresser!”

Insults and arguments sailed through the air as Atsumu tried to ignore their banter. It was the same old argument on who was better than the other and Atsumu had just about enough hearing the humans banter about their families. While gods don’t normally face this problem, his was a unique case since he came from a set of twins, meaning that whether he liked it or not, everything he does would affect on him and he couldn’t do shit of what he wants. He couldn’t even leave the shrine because of the whole idea of his brother losing half of his power if he left.

Damn that Osamu.

“Let a guardian bring her back!” someone yelled as Atsumu felt himself getting picked up from the ground, barely managing to keep his tablet from hitting the ground as he was thrust into the face of Suna Rintarou, the god’s face pinched in a scowl as the ancestor shouted, “Yes! Awaken the most cunning!”

Suna cunning? To a certain degree, yes.

“No! The swiftest!” another yelled as Atsumu was plucked out of the first ancestor’s grasp and made to knock heads with Ojiro Aran, the strongest and fastest god in their group. Currently, he believed he might be on vacation somewhere in Hawaii with his lover who coincidently happened to be…

“No! Send the wisest!” a third party shouted as Atsumu was rammed into the wall above Kita Shinsuke, the leader of their ragtag group and said lover of Ojiro. Come to think of it, weren’t they all on vacation now???

“Silence! We must send for the most powerful of all…” Suzuki roared as he jabbed his staff in the direction of the great stone fox statue Eita had been seated in the previous night. The sun was now peeking from the horizon, bathing it in a golden yellow glow as Atsumu laughed.

“Haha! Well, he’s on vacation now with Suna but in case you haven’t noticed, I’m available right here. One-half of the fox gods, the Miyas, at your service,” Atsumu grinned as he bowed low. Now would be a great time for him to get back into action, it was only so much he could do before rewatching videos of guys playing volleyball every day even if they had about 100 episodes to go through (since in the afterlife, everything can be obtained instantaneously without having to wait for it to b released on earth).

The gods broke into laughter as Suzuki himself choked on his tears, Atsumu’s ears twitching in irritation as snarled, “Just because I screwed up once doesn’t mean that I can’t do the job as well as Samu!”

“Well you had your chance to prove yourself to the Semi family, but no! You just had to get this poor guy beheaded because you thought that he was stupid to not go charging headfirst into battle,” the first ancestor from earlier snarled as she grabbed a man who was nursing his severed head in his arms. “My poor nephew Chojirou didn’t stand a chance!”

“Yeah thanks a lot, pal,” he grunted as his aunt fussed over him and about getting a new neck as Suzuki glowed, “The point is, we will be sending a real fox to retrieve Eita.”

A fox? A real freaking fox? Atsumu was a real fox! He even had the tail and ears to prove it!

“I’m a real fox you old bastard!”

“And you are not worthy of this spot! Now, awaken the great stone fox! At least one of the Miya twins would be able to do his job right!” Suzuki yelled as he flung Atsumu out of the door and onto the stairs, his body bouncing down the stone steps until he finally rolled in front of Osamu’s feet. He grunted at how stupid old people could be (he was several millennia older than them so _they_ should be the ones learning to respect their elders!) before getting to his feet and snatching the gong that had been thrown out with him.

_“Oi Samu! Samu! Wake up dammit and come back from your vacation! The freaking family needs you since Eita decided to run off and become a soldier! Not like I care but come on! I need some help here!”_ Atsumu called as Osamu’s voice rumbled in his mind. The twins shared a telepathic connection which proved handy with calling each other no matter where they were but he didn’t appreciate being able to hear his brother’s thoughts when he and Suna were making out.

_“What is it, Tsumu? I’m busy here,”_ Osamu grunted as Atsumu snapped, _“You heard me! They need you on the job now so please tell your beloved lover to haul his ass back to base and let you do your work.”_

_“No can do. I booked this trips years ago and now is the only time I can spend time with Rintarou so if you would…”_

_“Excuse me?! I’ve been called from having my daily dose of anime to call your ass back here and you’re telling me no?!”_ Atsumu wailed as he heard Osamu mentally trying not to choke him, _“Why don’t you just take my place and go?!”_

_“As if you would let me have your power and everything!”_

_“You’re just as strong as me, if not stronger. If you hadn’t go and get that guy beheaded, you might be in my position right now.”_

_“Don’t remind me of that! I was drunk!”_ Atsumu wailed as he tried not to recall the day he fell from grace. He had been partying hard with Osamu and the others back in the heavens when the war had been raging below them. The man he had been tasked to help had begged for his guidance on what to do about the war, stating he was scared of going into battle so Atsumu just told him the first thing that came to his mind.

“Just do it and go for it. You won’t die that easily.”

Ten minutes later and the man’s soul was on its way to heaven. Atsumu had a yelling match with Osamu on whether his decision had actually been sound but since it resulted in one of his charges dying, Kita had decided to demote him to the gong ringer of all things (that position hadn’t even existed before all that shit happened).

_“Well, if you’re so interested in the girl, go after her. I’m going to enjoy some quality time with Rintarou,”_ Osamu snapped from his end before going quiet. Well, Atsumu could hear some background noises that sounded suspiciously like kisses and Suna. He growled as he clambered his way up to Osamu’s head, digging the gong into the stone as he climbed up as he cursed his twin.

“Stupid Samu for not wanting the chance to prove himself. He has all the power and fame in the family to even do shit and what does he do? Plays hookey with Suna. What the living shit is this?!” he yelled as he slammed the gong into one of Osamu’s ears. There was a crack as the ear tumbled into his paws, Atsumu gaping as more cracks appeared in the statue before it finally decided to disintegrate and come crashing to the ground.

_Oh shit. Osamu is going to kill me._


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In a good mood today so here's another chapter.

Oh shit

Oh shit.

It won’t be just Osamu who was going to kill him for wrecking his stone statue.

It would be all of the Semi ancestors descending onto him and giving him a hell of a yelling and beating.

Atsumu let out a string of curses in his wake as he quickly snatched up the only thing that was actually still intact; his brother’s big, obnoxious head. The scowl on the statue’s face reminded Atsumu of their days of him just wanting him to shut up as Atsumu drove him up the wall with his antics, the other twin always the calmer of the two. _For now, his ugly mug would have to do,_ Atsumu thought as he hauled the head up the hill when he heard Suzuki calling out, Atsumu nearly dropping the stone head onto his paws.

“Great stone fox, have you awakened?”

_Alright, showtime._

Atsumu hoisted his brother's stone head onto his shoulders, barely managing to balance it as he yelled, “Yes yes I just woke up! I’m the great stone fox! Good morning! I will go and fetch Eita. Did I forgot to mention that I am the great stone fox?”

_Please buy it, old geezer. Let your damn rotting brain work in my favour for once._

“Go! The fate of the Semi family rests in your paws.”

“Ah alright, I will get to it… ****!!!!” Atsumu swore as he fell backwards, rolling down the hill with his brother’s head in tow before finally landing onto the ground and the stone landed right on top of his body with a sickening squish. Atsumu howled in pain as he shoved it off him, his flat body-popping back to normal, courtesy of being a god and all just as he heard a laugh coming from nearby.

“Holy shit that was hilarious, Mr Fox,” a voice chirped as a cricket hopped onto one of the pieces of stone littering the ground. The little thing had a mope of orange hair on the top of his head and a mad grin on his face, his cheeks red as he howled with laughter.

“Shut it, pipsqueak! I’m a deity, a fox god and…”

“Really? Then why did you get… omg you actually got squished so bad!” the cricket howled as the fox god tried not to swipe him in the head. The cricket was nimble as it jumped away from Atsumu’s reach, chirping as Atsumu finally gave up.

“Well, aren’t you going to after the girl?” the cricket chirped as Atsumu scowled, “Well, I’m am thinking about it but after destroying my brother’s stone statue and fighting with those geezers back there, I would need to bring her back with a medal to get myself back into the… WAIT! That’s it!” Atsumu yelled as he clapped his paws together.

All he needed to do was to bring Eita back alive and with a medal and boom, he was back in business as a main god of the Inarizaki group. A slightly evil smirk curled on his lips as he rubbed his paws together, cackling as he thought of how his brother might have just missed his big chance to shine in the spotlight.

“I will make Eita war hero and they will be begging me to come back to work!” he grinned as he began to run to the front gate when he heard the cricket chirping, “Wait for me!”

“Seriously, what makes you think you’re coming?” Atsumu snorted as the cricket fumed, “Hey! I’m supposed to be lucky!”

The cricket left out the bit of it causing a mass accident on the day of Eita’s matchmaking and failed to get her matchmade because it decided to go for a walk around the house and flew into Futakuchi’s bosom. It wrinkled its nose thinking of how a woman could suffocate someone with their chest as Atsumu scratched his head.

“Well, guess it wouldn’t hurt to have a bit of luck. What's your name, if you even got a name for a cricket, chibi-chan?”

“Eh?! Stop calling me that. And my name is Hinata Shouyou! You can call me Shouyou if you want,” the cricket chirped as it offered a tiny hand to Atsumu. Atsumu had to do his best not to shake it too hard or else it would pop off and Atsumu didn’t want to have to deal with a cricket without one of its arms.

“Alright then. Are you ready to go on an adventure, Shou-chan?” Atsumu smirked.

…

Eita was beginning to wonder if joining the army was a good idea.

While she had managed to find the camp a few hours before dawn broke, she found herself pacing in the bamboo forest lying beyond the camp, the sight of white tents and the flags of Karasuno and Shiratorizawa flying in the sky, a crow and eagle painted on each respective flag. Azumane watched her with amusement, chewing on its hay as she kicked a rock in frustration.

“How the hell am I going to get in? I didn’t think about how I might act like a man or maybe how I would look like one… am I too skinny? Is my voice too squeaky… arghh!!! This is a disaster!” she groaned as Azumane snorted. At this point, the poor horse just wanted to go to the stables and sleep, not listen to its master ranting about something she should have thought out beforehand.

“Who am I fooling… it's going to take a miracle to get me into the army,” she murmured as the sound of wind chimes filled the air followed by a rain of sakura petals. Pink showered all over Eita as she looked for the source of it, watching as a man stepped forward, clothed in a white kimono as he smiled, “My dear child. I have answered your ancestors' prayers and am here to assist you.”

The man had blonde hair covering half of his face, a wide smirk emerging from behind the fan he held in a long, slender hand. His feet clicked on the ground as he walked in wooden sandals, a large fox tail brushing behind him, its fur a golden and white colour. He had a pair of ears perched on his head as well, the two things twitching as he snapped his fan shut with a smile.

“I was sent by your ancestors to help you in your plight. How may I be of service to you?” he said as he bowed low. Eita could feel the heat rising in her cheeks as she tried not to think of how gorgeous this person looked when she blatantly realised that she was looking at a deity of sorts.

Foxes. Her family had long worshipped the Inarizaki gods for generations so this must be one of their ranks. Hmmm… who is this person… Eita raked her mind for names of the gods when she snapped her fingers.

“Ah, you must be Osamu Miya!” she smiled as a vein popped in the man’s head as he yelled, “Why must it always be Osamu??? Dammit, I exist too!”

Eita gaped as the man threw his fan onto the ground and stomped on it, screaming profanities as Eita wondered if the god had gone mad. He had seemed very pissed about the name that he had been called, meaning he must be…

“Uh, is there supposed to be more than one of you?”

“Of course! I’m one of the Miya twin fox gods, Miya Freaking Atsumu. At your service.”

“Never heard of you.”

“Did they want to wipe me off the record that much? It was just one freaking mishap of the guy’s head going flying and I was demoted. Come on! I’m pretty sure the others have blown plenty of people up when they called on us but hey, things happen,” Atsumu growled as Eita took a step back. Even Azumane seemed to be having second thoughts on trusting this god as Atsumu cleared his throat.

“Aside from that, your family has sent me to watch over you when you’re in the army. While I cannot physically aid you all the time, I can help give you advice on what to do. For instance, are you a freaking idiot for coming here when you’re a female?! You have a death wish or something?” Atsumu snapped as Eita groaned, “You know my situation. I don’t want my father to get injured in battle. He’s already so weak. This was the only thing…”

“You could do, yes yes. I get all that jazz. Alright, here is the deal. You survive, I will guide you, we live a happily ever after and you get to go home a hero and welcome a lot of tiny Semi babies. That good for you?” he asked as Eita nodded. It wasn’t as though she had a choice in the matter anyway, Atsumu’s lip curling as he reached out a hand.

“Well, then. I look forward to working with you,” he smiled as Eita took his hand, shaking at as she asked, “Just one question. How am I going to sneak you into camp with me?”

There was a puff of smoke as Atsumu disappeared, reappearing as a small golden tailed fox. His ears twitched as Eita tried not to coo at how cute he was as the fox god walked forward, swishing his tail as he gestured at her to pick him up.

“Come on now. we haven’t got all day. And yes, I can talk so don’t need to worry about it. Shou-chan, pack the bags! We’re leaving!” Atsumu called as a small cricket popped out from the reeds, hoisting what appeared to be a couple of bags as Eita quirked an eyebrow.

Did she see that cricket before?

…

Oikawa grinned as he flicked off yet another piece off the map, the dark green wooden piece falling to its side. Oikawa hummed as he pushed the small aqua blue dots that stood for his army, pushing it towards the spot the previous wooden piece had occupied, a smile on his face as he poked a red flag onto the map.

After ransacking the villages and towns along the Great Wall, now Oikawa and his army was beginning to edge closer towards their goal of conquering Karasuno and in the process, defeating Shiratorizawa

How long he had yearned for the day he could take his revenge.

When all the clans had remained divided, Seijoh had waged war with Shiratorizawa only for them to lose the battle badly. Most of the men were killed off and the women were taken prisoner, the children left to fend for themselves in a desolated land without protection and guidance. Oikawa’s father had been the reigning leader of Seijoh and when he lost, he begged for his family and people to be spared on the condition he offered his life.

The General of Shiratorizawa had cleaved his father’s head off his shoulders in one fell swoop, the older Oikawa’s head rolling onto the ground to settle at his son’s feat. Oikawa could never forget the blood of his father splashing across his face, painting it a dark crimson before the head was stuffed into a rucksack and carried off as a trophy. Oikawa’s family had been spared, but Seijoh came to hate them as the family of the fallen King who failed to defeat the enemy.

Oikawa worked so hard to prove them wrong and defend his father’s honour. He picked up the sword as soon as he could, learning every war tactic he could get his hands on and training his small squad of soldiers. Soon, they became strong enough to overthrow the old army that had taken control over the nation, bringing up a new Seijoh where the people revered their king. To support the kingdom, Oikawa and his men went pillaging the villages around them, returning home with goods and treasure for them to live by. Seijoh grew from a fallen nation to a prosperous one, Oikawa setting his sights on the nation that caused them so much pain in the first place.

Seijoh hadn’t been invited to join the new Alliance between Karasuno and various other nations because of its position during the clan wars. Oikawa thought it would be fun to try and conquer more land and topple Shiratorizawa at it, waiting for the day he could stare down at the man who killed his father and end his life the same way he did his.

“Hey, Shittykawa. Stop grinning like a madman and go to bed,” Iwaizumi chided as he walked into the tent, removing his fur cape as Oikawa pouted, “Come on. We just destroyed a town and conquered their land. Have a bit of fun now.”

His childhood best friend came up to him to cuff him at the back of the head, Oikawa whining at how much of a gorilla he was when he bent over to press a kiss on the King’s forehead. His lips brushed soft curls as Oikawa sighed, breathing in the smell of metal and blood off his friend and lover as he tugged him close.

“Come on. Let’s have a little celebration of our own,” he smiled as he tugged him towards the bed, kicking off their shoes as they tumbled onto the luxurious fur.

Oikawa will think about tomorrow’s battle. For now, he would enjoy himself to the fullest.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And Wakatoshi enters the fray!
> 
> This story has reached a 100 hits and I'm so happy for that! Thank you for supporting this story so far and hope you continue to support it until the end. 
> 
> Enjoy!

The sound of metal clanging and the boisterous laughter of men filled the air as Eita approached the camp. As she stepped at the entrance leading into the encampment, she felt Atsumu shuffling in her armour as his small furry head popped up from inside, having found refuge in her clothes since it would be strange for a fox to be walking about.

“Alright, chin up and strut forward! That’s the way a man needs to walk!” Atsumu grinned as she quickly did the motions he had talked her through earlier. Azumane harumphed in laughter as it watched its owner sticking out their chest and bending their knees inward in an absolutely hilarious position, making their way into the camp as the other recruit gaped at her. Eita tried to ignore the stares as she walked in. Atsumu was trying his best not to giggle as she walked, the girl seeming to believe that the tactic would work when a bark of laughter rang at her direction.

“Oho! What do we have here? You got something in your knees or something?” a guy laughed as he made his way towards her. He had the most ridiculous red hair in existence, standing up high above his head as he smiled. He wore the simple beige tunic all the recruits wore in the camp, Eita slowly realising she looked like an idiot in her armour as he grinned.

“Well, who might you be little soldier, strutting as though you’re a chicken?”

“Eh…”

“Don’t need to worry. I will find out your name eventually. Name’s Tendou Satori. I come from the city of Shiratorizawa. My best pal, Wakatoshi-kun is actually the son of the general here and would be taking very good care of us,” he winked as he slung an arm across Eita’s shoulders, leading the way to a row of tents where the noise levels seemed to be higher than normal. Tendou called out greetings to men who were in the midst of pretty interesting activities; cleaning toes with chopsticks and eating their own boogers. Eita tried not to gag at the sight when she heard a man laughing, “Look at this dragon! It will totally protect me from harm!”

A soldier with a bowl cut laughed as he cracked his knuckles, a grin on his face as he nailed a punch into the guy’s gut, sending him toppling to the ground as the crowd hollered. He blew the dust of his fist as he raised his fist into the air, the crowd chanting his name as he yelled, “I’m going to surpass Ushijima-san and become the strongest soldier there is, just you wait!”

“Shut up already. You’re embarrassing yourself and the others,” a smaller boy groaned as he looked as though he was trying not to strangle him. The other soldier merely laughed as he made a ruffle on the guy’s head, the boy snarling as he slapped the soldier’s hand away.

“Try and annoy me one more time with your antics Goshiki, and I will make sure you won’t see tomorrow,” the guy scowled as Goshiki, the kid with the bowl-cut laughed, “Come on, Shirabu-san! Ushijima-san doesn’t look that strong!”

“And that would be your downfall, Tsutomu-kun,” Tendou laughed as he came over with Eita in tow, the other two eying her as Tendou ruffled her head, “Meet… what's your name kid? He’s a newbie. You should have seen the way he was walking earlier; he looked ready to piss his pants.”

Tendou broke off into cackles as Shirabu scowled, turning to walk away when Tsutomu gaped, “Eh… for a guy. You’re pretty cute!”

Eita tried not to blush at the comment as Shirabu scowled, “Hey, don’t get on your high horse here, Goshiki. You’re here to fight, not to find love.”

“I know! I know! I’m just stating a fact! You’re really cute and I swear I will protect you!” Goshiki shouted as other men began to circle the group, drawn in by the noises as one of them eyed Eita like a piece of meat.

“Eh, you’re right! I haven’t seen a guy this cute in a while. You a bishoujou or something kid? Maybe we can have some fun tonight,” he smirked as Eita squirmed. Some of the older men were giving her looks she wasn’t a fan of, Tendou’s grip tightening on her shoulder as he snarled, “Oi, you old farts better don’t think of laying a hand on him. You’re not here to do shit to other soldiers.”

“Just because you’re a nobleman’s son and won’t have to do much of the fighting, doesn’t mean you can stop us having our fun! If we’re doomed to die anyway, why don’t we at least get our fun with the new kid?!” a man laughed just as a punch came flying into his face, sending him and his front teeth sprawling to the ground as Goshiki yelled, “Don’t you dare talk to him like that!’

“Why you little…” the man shouted as he lunged at Goshiki, who proceeded to whack him upside the head as the crowd joined in. Tendou sighed as he pushed Eita to the side before she got hit in the face by a flying man, having been thrown into the air by Goshiki as Tendou sighed, “Animals.”

Goshiki and the man were now in a full fist fight, with the man’s buddies trying to come in and help to no avail. Tendou hit them just as hard as Goshiki despite his skinny build, even going as far to pressing vital points on their bodies to send them toppling into a heap on the ground. Shirabu, Goshiki’s friend from earlier merely watched from the sidelines, yawning as he dodged flying bodies and his friend’s punches as though he saw this on a daily basis.

What did Eita get herself into?

“What's going on here?!” a voice rumbled as all the men stopped fighting, a wide smile growing on Tendou’s face as he dropped the man he had been strangling to the ground.

“Ah, Wakatoshi-kun. You’re just in time for the welcoming part,” he smirked as a tall man strode out of his tent. He wore full battle armor, his helmet tucked under the crook of his arm as his eyes scanned the crowd and his eyes read anything but happy about the situation as all the men quickly got to their feet and bowed. Even Goshiki seemed terrified of the man, his eyes moving to lock onto Eita as he scowled.

Eita had never seen such a beautiful man her entire life. His shoulders were broad under the armour, the metal hugging his frame as bicep flexed underneath it. Despite being big, he had a V shape that made him look like a model, Eita wondering if there were abs underneath as the man snapped.

“Are you the cause of this?”

…

Ushijima Wakatoshi had always been perfect in the eyes of his family. Training in the arts of war ever since he could read and wielding a sword as soon as he could walk, he was the pride and joy of the Ushijima family who was destined to lead their nation into an era of strength and peace. Ushijima craved to be on the battlefield, fighting the enemies of his homeland and bringing home victory to the Emperor, although his wishes may be futile since peace had been around for the past decade or so.

His mother had wished he would take on a bride but he wasn’t interested in the desires of the flesh. He only ever wanted to be on the battlefield and fighting, being showered in the blood of his enemies. He couldn’t even see himself being at home, caring for a family or being away for a long time and leaving them alone. He had experienced first hand how it was like to grow up without a father figure; he didn’t want his child to go through the same fate.

Besides, he hadn’t as much found any women attractive, let alone want to court them. Daughters of his parents' allies had come for marriage interviews and Ushijima just couldn’t be bothered with it. All of them looked the same to him, never stirring the feeling called love in his heart. He thought he might have truly been a heartless person for breaking the hearts of many young women until now that is.

Seijoh had declared war on the Allied Nations and with Karasuno and Shiratorizawa making up the bulk of the offence, Ushijima had been whisked off to the battlefield he had been dying to be on since his youth. His father would sit with him, asking for his input on battle tactics and troops formations, smiling proudly at him as he offered useful insight on forming the troops.

Suga hung around the two men like a cloud, a scroll in hand as he jotted down notes of strategies and things to prepare with the army as they talked. The Emperor had sent him over to assist them in the war; while Suga may seem like a feminine man who preferred to stay by his lover’s side in court, he could be a tough cookie in beating sense into new recruits.

Ushijima had been on the receiving end once when he was younger and hadn’t listened to Suga when he had gotten up from fever and proceeded to practice. It took everything in the silver-haired man’s power not to knock him out like a light and lock him in his room for the entire day.

“Seijoh’s army is here and here. I will take the army to the Northern pass that Dateko lies in and stop Seijoh before they hit the city,” the General said as he tapped his pointer onto the map, moving the purple blocks that resembled Shiratorizawa’s main army across to a strip of mountain ranges where Dateko was. The famed Iron Walled city was one of the strongest strongholds in the region; it would take a miracle to bring them down.

“Excellent strategy sir. I do love surprises,” Suga chuckled as he jotted it down, the General raising an eyebrow at him before looking at his son. Ushijima stiffened, straightening his back as his father turned to the stand behind him where his sword lay. The katana had a pattern of falcons along the hilt, the leather marked with scratches from being passed down through the generations and used in war. Utsui smiled as he lifted the sword from its resting place and held it before Ushijima.

“You will stay here and guard the troops. I entrust you with the responsibility of training our new men, captain,” Utsui smiled as Ushijima bowed, thanking him as he took the sword into his hands. How long he had dreamed of holding onto this sword.

“Why are you giving it to me now, General?”

“You’re a young man without a sword. I have my own and I feel that it would be best to be in your hands. I trust you can whip up the troops into shape?” he smirked as Suga laughed, “I think I might enjoy whipping them into shape more than Wakatoshi.”

“Suga…” Utsui sighed before moving to stand up, his armour clinking as he retrieved his own sword from the side. He and his army were due to depart that morning after he had discussed things with Ushijima, a small pit filling in Ushijima’s belly as his father clapped a hand onto his shoulder.

“I trust you will be able to do well, Wakatoshi. I have brought you up well,” he smiled as he leaned over and gave his son a hug. The older man was just as strong as Ushijima despite being twice his age, clapping his back as he made his way out of the tent when he heard several squawks coming from beyond the tent.

“Wakatoshi, your cue,” Suga grinned as Ushijima sighed, moving to move the flap of the tent aside to see the mess in front of him. there were at least ten men being in a fistfight right about now, rolling in the dirt as the others cheered and hollered. One of them, a young boy with a bowl cut was screaming profanities at an older man as he socked his face, several teeth flying into the air as they ducked back into the crowd. A wild laugh emerged from the crowd as a shock of red hair poked from the top of the crowd before ducking back in, Ushijima sighing as he figured out who the owner was.

This was going to take a lot of work.

“What's going on here?!” he demanded as the troops stopped fighting, Goshiki landing one more hit onto a man’s face before scrambling to his feet to bow at the newly appointed captain. Tendou merely smirked from his spot as he sported a new bruise on his cheek, winking at him as Ushijima scanned the crowd for the perpetrator before his eyes landed on a recruit who was dressed in full armour. His eyes were wide as he tried to edge away from the crowd, his ash blonde hair falling to touch his shoulders and when he turned to look at Ushijima, sharp brown eyes met with Ushijima’s as he felt his heart stutter for just a minute.

Who was that recruit and why did his heart flutter like that?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos will really make my day. I know it sounds lame as a writer to want to have comments and kudos but it really helps us to know that our work is being appreciated and that people would like to see it being continued. Especially in these hard times, some kind words can really spur me on to write.


	8. Chapter 8

“Yo Wakatoshi-kun,” Tendou smiled as the rest of the soldiers squeaked in fear at how informal he was with the General’s son. The man whose teeth he had knocked out earlier squeaked in fear as he scooted as far as he could from the man as Tendou waltzed over to Ushijima to give him a hug, the others gawking at the spectacle as the General himself walked out of the tent before smiling at the boy.

“Ah, Satori-kun! You made it! How’s things back home with your old man?”

“Ah, pa is fine. He gets a bit grouchy sometimes with his meds and all but he’s ok. Took up a recent hobby of knitting for some reason,” Tendou smirked as he exchanged hugs with Ushijima’s father. Goshiki’s jaw had dropped to the ground at the sight of his senpai being so informal with the General and his son, Shirabu raising an eyebrow as he exchanged betting money he had made with Goshiki as the boy wordlessly handed the cash over.

“Now then. Nice to see you gentlemen all energetic so early in the morning. If you would excuse me, I have an army to lead to Dateko,” the General grinned as all the soldiers stood in attention. Tendou did the same as Ushijima bowed to his father, wishing him safe travels as the man walked off to his white stallion that stood ready a few tents away. The beast whinnied as its owner got onto its back, Utsui turning to smile as Ushijima as he said, “Take care of them, Wakatoshi.”

“I will, father,” he said as he bowed low, Utsui digging his heels into the sides of his horse as he hollered, “Outward and onward!”

There was a chorus of voices as men started off after him, most of them on horses as they galloped off after the general. The flags of Shiratorizawa and Karasuno flew in the sky in a mirage of purple and orange as they set off, the sounds of horses whinnying echoing across the valley and the beat of horse hooves on the ground shaking the earth until the army finally disappeared into the horizon. Once they had left, silence took over the encampment, most of the soldiers still too stunned from the earlier commotion to react when Suga made his way out of the tent, clicking his brush against his scroll as he tutted.

“Come on, boys. I know you are all young and full of energy, but it's too early to get into a fight,” he smiled as some of the men physically blanched. Even Tendou stepped back from the man as he stood next to Ushijima, smiling a deadly smile that spoke volumes of how much he was going to murder the person who started the fight. Suga smiled once as the crowd went silent.

“Alright, kids. Who was the one who started the fight?”

Immediately, all the troops moved as one to step to the side, revealing Eita in all her glory and embarrassment as the girl tried to hide herself. The men who had just fought for her had now outed her to one of the most powerful men in the nation and after seeing how Suga could be like when her father had been called to war, she didn’t want to be on the receiving end of Suga’s scolding.

“Ara. Are you a newbie? You didn’t have to wear your armour here, you know,” Suga smiled as Eita gulped. The man’s eyes raked over her body, his brush twirling in his hand as he moved to lift up her chin. Chocolate eyes looked into hers as he searcher her face, Eita trying her best not to buckle to the ground as he asked, “Have I seen you from somewhere?”

“Ah. You came to my home village, sir.”

“Please. Call me Suga. We’re all friends here, aren’t we boys?” Suga smirked as the crowd stepped back from him. Ushijima watched the spectacle unfold before him in amusement as Suga turned to Eita one more time.

“What is your name, boy?”

“Semi. Semi Eita.”

“Semi… as in Semi Hiroki, one of the most famous samurai to have fought for the nation? He was said to be at par with Ushijima Utsui on the battlefield. I didn’t know he had a son. From what I recalled, he had a daughter.”

Sweat dripped down Eita’s back as she quickly tried to find an explanation. She cursed herself for not changing her name to something else entirely but she thought it would be weird to change it anyway since everyone would be calling her Semi here.

“Ah, I have a habit of cross-dressing when I have the time. My family didn’t take it that well and kept me at home to avoid bringing dishonour to the family.”

_Really?? Crossdressing???_

“Hmm. An interesting hobby. I think I have just the right idea of how to get the ball rolling with you since everyone is already so energetic. Wakatoshi-kun, bring out the medals,” Suga grinned as he winked at Eita, “You might want to change out of that armour.”

Eita quickly stripped down to the loose tunic she wore underneath, feeling the cool breeze hitting her body. Once she was done did she then realised that Ushijima was walking out of his tent without his shirt, a bow and a quiver strapped over his back and a large box in his hands. He walked over to Suga, who was grinning too much for comfort as he opened the box, taking two huge medals twice the size of his head out of it as he said.

“The exercise is simple. Wakatoshi here will shoot an arrow to the top of that pole and you have to use these medals to get to the top. Mind you, you can only use the medals to get to the top. Can I have a volunteer?” Suga smiled as Eita tried to take a step back. Tendou was looking at the medals like they were going to kill him while Shirabu was trying to blend into the crowd, although his hair didn’t do much to give him cover. Finally, a voice rang out as Goshiki stepped forward, his hand raised in the air as he shouted, “I volunteer for the task!”

Suga smiled as the boy walked over, slowly sliding each of the medals into his hands.

“This represents discipline,” Suga started as he released Goshiki’s left hand, the boy grunting as he nearly collapsed to the ground from the weight of it. Suga merely smiled as he added the other medal onto his right hand, Goshiki already trembling in fear as Suga just finished his sentence, “And this, represents strength.”

With that, Goshiki collapsed onto the ground in a heap, barely able to even stand up from the weight of the medals. He grunted as he followed Ushijima to the pole, the tall structure hovering above the encampment as the man removed an arrow from his quiver and aimed it at the top. Eita sucked in a breath at how the sweat dripped off his shoulders and his abs as Ushijima let the arrow fly, barely flinching as the arrow flew through the air and stuck dead centre right at the top of the pole.

She could see Goshiki internally cursing as Suga patted him on the back.

“Come on, now. Show us what you’ve got,” he smiled as Tendou whispered, “This is going to get interesting.”

“And mind you. _All_ of you have to do it!” Suga called as there was a silent collective groan from the men. Eita could already feel her muscles aching from thinking of carrying those weights when she heard Goshiki yelling, “If I cannot defeat this pole, there is no way I can defeat Ushijima-san!”

He walked towards the base of the pole, his arms already straining to hold the weight of them as he took a deep breath, looking at the pole before hollering, “Banzai!”

He started to climb up the pole like a monkey, his feet sliding off the surface as Tendou tried to suppress a laugh. Goshiki continued to clamber up before sliding down. In an attempt to keep himself on the pole, he bit into the side of the pole, taking part of the pole with him as he slid onto his butt. Goshiki cursed as he tried it over and over again, the medals barely even used as Suga finally called it quits.

The next one was Tendou, who ended up falling down the pole when he decided he had enough of using the medals and decided to climb up the way Goshiki did. He didn’t get more than 3 feet before the medals pulled him back onto the ground, his lean body crashing to the earth as he let out a string of curses.

Shirabu just looked at it and excused himself for a toilet break, never returning to the session until someone had to go and grab him from the toilet.

Eita was no better, barely even able to get more than 3 feet before sliding onto her butt. As she rubbed her hurting bum, she could hear Atsumu giggling from where her shed armour lay, making a note to strangle the fox afterwards when she heard Ushijima sigh, “We’ve got a long way to go.”

His brows were creased to a frown as he moved to snatch some staffs from a large clay jar and tossing it to all of them, Eita’s stick hitting her on the head as Tendou tried not to laugh at the sight.

Ushijima raised his staff in front of him, holding it horizontally in between his hands before twirling it in the air, moving rapidly as he snatched up the clay jars that had held the staffs earlier. With a single whip, he drove the end of the staff into each jar in turn, shattering them into hundreds of pieces as the soldiers stared at the man moving in front of them. He never faltered as he began to instruct them, his movement swift as the instructions left his lips.

_“Let’s get down to business, to defeat Seijoh. Did they send me daughters, when I asked for sons?_

_You’re the saddest bunch I’ve ever met, but you can bet before we’re through. Mister, I’ll make a man out of you.”_

Their training proceeded from fighting in close range combat to learning how to shoot. Ushijima looked ready to explode as he tried to show them how to shoot, most of the arrows flying way off course as Suga giggled from behind his scroll. The man was one of the best archers in the land and found it more amusing to see his kouhai making a fool out of themselves than helping.

Next up was fishing, with them trying to catch fish barehanded from the river. Eita had to apologise profusely to Goshiki when she accidently caught his foot instead of a fish, dragging the poor boy underwater for a solid minute before trying to rescue him, much to Tendou’s laughter and amusement.

Balancing a bucket on top of her head wasn’t great either. Tendou took great pleasure in hurling pebbles right at her chest, making her wince as it connected with it. More than once, the bucket had come toppling off her head and onto the ground. Once, it even fell on top of her, causing her to move blindly and hit everyone in sight, including Tendou’s crotch and Goshiki’s nose. Ushijima had frowned at that, Eita trying to grin her way out of it before Suga gave her a warning look.

As the days wore on things were looking even more weary for the recruits, most of them at the end of their rope as Ushijima continued to teach them.

_“Tranquil as a forest but on fire within. Once you find your centre, you are sure to win. You're a spineless, pale, pathetic lot and you can bet before we're through. Mister, I'll make a man out of you.”_

Even Tendou, Goshiki and Shirabu seemed to be wearing thin as the training went on, Goshiki groaning as he dragged himself out of his bed and onto the training grounds, “I’m never going to catch my breath.”

“Say goodbye to those who knew me!” Shirabu murmured as he got whacked over the head with Goshiki’s staff, the younger boy trying to apologise profusely as Shirabu clobbered him with his staff until it broke.

“Why was I fool at school for cutting gym,” Tendou swore as he tried to break a brick with his face, losing a few teeth in the process and getting a concussion that lasted several days.

“This guy’s got them scared to death,” Atsumu murmured as he ran a wet towel over Eita’s bruised face before shoving her back into the mercy of Ushijima during their hand to hand combat training.

“Hope he hasn’t seen right through me,” Eita groaned as Ushijima landed her yet another kick in the ribs. She had no idea if she had broken them or if they had gone to the point in pain where she couldn’t differentiate between them being broken or numbness.

“How I really wish I knew how to swim!” Goshiki yelled as Shirabu kicked him into the river, Ushijima stopping the crowd to go jump in to save him much to the boy’s horror and humiliation.

Despite that, they couldn’t stop.

“ _Be a man._

_We must be swift as the coursing river._

_We are the force of a great typhoon._

_With all the strength of a raging fire, mysterious as the dark side of the moon.”_

Eita could feel the days wearing on, her body slowly crumbling from all the training. She was close to breaking into tears whenever she felt pain stinging up her body. But nothing could compare to the look of disappointment that crossed Ushijima’s face whenever she fell behind or when she collapsed. She craved to at least be accepted by him, just once.

Perhaps if she was a woman…

He might actually find fate in her.

“Time is racing towards us, till Seijoh arrives. Heed my every order, and you might survive,” he grunted as he lifted the sacks she had been carrying in between her shoulders, moving to run ahead to catch up as Eita lay in defeat on the ground before slowly making her way back to camp.

That night, she saw Ushijima walking towards her with Azumane in tow, all her bags packed up as she felt a shiver run down her spine. The disappointment in Ushijima’s face made her stomach clench as his famous words of, “If you’re weak, you’re not needed here” filled her ears.

“Yo’re unsuited for the rage of war, so pack up, go home you’re through. How could I make a man out of you?”

No. Eita wouldn’t let things go down this way. She was going to make him look at her.

Whether as a man or as a woman, Ushijima Wakatoshi will look at her and acknowledge her.

Before the sun rose, Eita found herself standing before the pole, the arrow still stuck on the top after a month of being imbedded into the wood. The medals remained as heavy as ever in her hands, each one weighing as much as herself as she tried to climb up. Slowly, she roped them together to pull herself up, fighting against gravity as she climbed all the way to the top.

“ _Be a man._

_We must be swift as the coursing river._

_We are the force of a great thphoon._

_With all the strength of a raging fire, mysterious as the dark side of the moon.”_

Slowly but surely, she made it to the top as the sun rose up in the horizon. She could see the crowd of men below her hollering for her to reach the top, Tendou smirking among them as Goshiki gaped. Shirabu gave a small nod of approval as Eita plucked the arrow from the wood and raised it in the air when she saw Ushijima stepping out of his tent. She smiled as she threw it straight at him, the arrow hitting the ground between his toes to make him look up at her. As the sun rose above her, she felt a small smile of triumph forming on her lips when she saw the look of approval on Ushijima’s face, a similar smile forming on his as he nodded.


	9. Midnight Swim

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I started up another fanfic (I just couldn't help but started writing it but in the end ended up neglecting this a little bit in the process) thats OsaSuna, SakuAtsu and AkaBokuKurooTsukki centric (did I even get the ship names right???) so if you wanna check it out, that would be great! Its called [Tales of the Wandering Fox](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23801950/chapters/57183373) and written mostly from Suna's POV. 
> 
> Enjoy this chapter! I always found the river scene pretty enjoyable fufu.

Eita wasn’t sure when was the last time she had a decent bath.

She was very aware that anyone could walk in on her at any time, which was why she chose to go right around midnight when no one would go. Trying not to think of what kind of aquatic creatures might be lurking underneath, Eita slipped out of her clothes, shivering in the cold as she wrapped herself in her towel. For good measure, she took Azumane with her to shield her from sight, the two of them making their way to the river with the stars shining high above their heads.

“Hey hey. Do you have any idea what might happen if someone were to see your naked body and notice you’re a woman?” Atsumu snapped as he appeared next to Eita. Eita had barely seen the fox around or his cricket companion; whenever she was out training, he was doing who knew what somewhere else. She was just glad he at least helped patch up her wounds in his tiny fox form, his paws struggling to hold onto the wet cloth before splashing it across her body or swiping way too much ointment on her bruises.

“Just because I look like a man doesn’t mean I have to smell like one. And besides, no one can see me in the dark,” she mumbled as she hid behind a row of tall grass, taking the chance to release her hair from her bun before hanging her towel on a branch. She sighed in relief as she darted for the water, Atsumu going on about how young girls shouldn’t take the risk of showering in the presence of hormonal males as she doused him in water, the fox spluttering as she whipped her hair back with a sigh.

It felt so good to shower after a long day of training. She was so used to showering every day back home; after being in camp, she only had the chance to shower at most once every three days if she was lucky. Showering with the men was a challenge; Tendou always had a habit of popping his head at the wrong timing and offering to shower with her. Goshiki was beginning to pick up this bad habit as well, dragging Shirabu into the mix with him.

As much as she found a bit of companionship with those guys, with Tendou making a point to drive everyone up the wall and Goshiki and Shirabu being at each other’s throats all the time, she just wanted some peace and quiet.

Eita scrubbed the sweat and grime off her body, letting the cool water remove all of it from her. She felt so fresh as she scrubbed herself clean, her hand running across her torso as Atsumu yelled at her to hurry up.

  
“Come on, you’re done now so get back to bed and go to sleep.”

“Atsumu, if you’re so worried, go stay watch,” she snapped as she ducked her head into the water, her hands scrubbing through her scalp. Before she could move on to washing herself further, she heard a familiar laugh followed by yells and shrieks as she cursed, moving underwater to hide behind a boulder just as Tendou decided to make an entrance into the water.

“I’m the king of the river!” he yelled as he jumped into the water, splashing water all over Shirabu who was trying his best not to go in.

“Its freaking cold and there could be something in there..” he growled as Goshiki smacked him on the back hard enough to send him face-first into the water.

“Come on, senpai! The water is great!” Goshiki laughed as Shirabu snatched him by the neck and tossed him into the water, the other boy shrieking as he was hit in the face with cold water. Shirabu had a very nasty temper that seemed to flare up every time Goshiki tried to annoy him; Eita couldn’t count the number of times Goshiki had nearly broken several bones because of Shirabu’s fist.

“Chill guys. Let’s have a nice time and have a good bath. I can’t remember the last time I had one. Man, I wished Wakatoshi could have joined us but he has his own private bath with Advisor Sugawara. What would I do to have a nice hot bath with Waka,” Tendou sighed as Goshiki shrieked before being dunked into the water by Shirabu, “Ushijima-san has his own bath?!”

_“No wonder I haven’t seen him in the showers at all,”_ Eita thought as she peered from behind her boulder. She tried not to think of imagining Ushijima in a hot tub, soaking himself as he spread his legs out underneath the water. She could almost imagine him with his eyes closed in bliss, soaking in the heat before standing up to wrap a towel around himself…

Eita clapped herself on the cheeks, scolding herself for imagining Ushijima buck naked when Tendou caught wind of the sound, his sharp eyes turning to the direction of her boulder as Eita realised her hair was sticking out.

“Hey, Semisemi! Come and join us!” he called as Eita shrugged at the nickname. Tendou had a bunch of nicknames for all of them, including Ushijima but Eita found it a bit comforting to be referred to by her family name instead of her first name; it would be too personal for her in this situation and she felt she would be lying to them with using her real name. Hiding behind her family name seemed just about right.

“Semi-san! A little help…” Goshiki called as he was dunked into the water headfirst once again by Shirabu, who made him swear to never drag him for skinny dipping or showering ever again at night as the boy nodded glumly underwater. Shirabu gave Semi a nod before letting his kohai back to the surface, the younger boy sputtering as Eita ducked a bit lower into the water.

While Tendou and Goshiki seemed to treat her of somewhat an equal in training, Shirabu seemed to be fixated on overthrowing Semi in everything. They had a small rivalry going on between them where Semi had been able to best everything against Shirabu except in archery. The boy was gifted in the art, having had come from a family of kyudo practitioners and loving the ways of the bow and arrow. He preferred to stand in the back in the safety of shields and rain arrows over the heads of his enemies or hiding in the shadows, lying in wait to pounce on someone.

“Good evening, senpai,” he nodded as Semi gave him a nod when Tendou smirked, “Eh why are you so shy? Come up a bit more to show us what you’re made of!”

Eita had ducked into the water low enough they wouldn’t be able to see her chest. While she had a much flatter than normal chest than other girls, there was still the risk of them finding out her gender if she wasn’t careful. She carefully put her arms across her chest, the girl within her screaming about men looking at her naked body and the shame it would bring as Eita tried not to blush.

“Hey, guys. I didn’t know you were here. I’ve finished my bath and I’m going to go. See you…” she started as Tendou snatched her by the arm, “Come on! We’ve only just got here! How about we have a race to go from one end of the river to another?”

“How do you even have the energy to swim, Tendou-senpai?” Shirabu moaned as Goshiki yelled, “A race?! Count me in!” Shirabu placed his hands on his ears, wishing he could get into bed right now even if he had to share a tent with Goshiki as Eita stuttered, “Uh, I don’t really want to…”

“Come on! We have to fight for our honour!” Tendou protested as Eita tried to scramble away. Argh, now she was beginning to get very flustered and worried about them finding out about her secret. Tendou’s hand was already straying from her shoulder, narrowly brushing her chest as he felt his eyes widen.

“Oya…”

“What the hell?!” Shirabu shrieked as he leapt out of the water, his manhood in full display as he raced for the boulder. Behind him, something was swimming towards him and when Eita looked closer, Shirabu had a large bite on his butt about the size of a fox’s mouth.

“Snake! A freaking snake bit me!” Shirabu shrieked as he clambered onto the boulder. Goshiki began to panic as well, scrambling to the boulder to cling on as Shirabu yelled at him to get off.

“I was here first!”

“Don’t be a stinge! I don’t want to die as well!”

“Go die for goodness sakes! You’re driving me crazy!” Shirabu shrieked as Eita took the chance to dart out of the water and behind Azumane, who sensed it master being in danger. It snatched her towel off its back, Eita gratefully taking it to wrap it around her body before walking away from the scene. The last thing she heard was Goshiki being pushed off the boulder, Shirabu muttering, “So much for the King of the Rock.”

“Look what you made me do? Damn, I don’t even know if I can get this out of my mouth. The last time I bit something this bad was this one god’s ass and he was not great since he farted… ughh!” Atsumu swore as he removed a tube of toothpaste from nowhere, squeezing its contents onto a toothbrush and scrubbing his teeth vigorously. His cricket companion chirped from the top of Azumane, seemingly laughing at him as Atsumu swore he was going to roast him for breakfast.

_“I don’t think I ever want to see a naked man again,”_ Eita thought just as a bunch of recruits ran past her buck naked before leaping into the water. She could hear the sound of Tendou’s laughter echoing into the night, the men laughing among themselves as Eita quickly retreated to her tent.

Well, there was one man she didn’t mind seeing naked.

She watched as her friends splashed around in the water like teenaged boys, enjoying themselves for once without care about the war. Eita wondered if she had met them outside of the wartime; would they be able to act the way now?

What would have happened if Ushijima had met her on the streets or during a marriage proposal meeting?

Eita slapped herself on the cheeks, trying to perish all those thoughts from her mind as she walked to her tent, Atsumu groaning at how bad butts were as the sound of happy men filled the night.

…

Oikawa smirked as he used his katana to hold up the chin of the man who killed his father. All around them, the city of Dateko lay in ruins, the once-mighty Iron Walled city burned to the ground. Being the place that manufactured most of the nation’s weapons and being the main line of defence against enemies, with it down, Oikawa’s men had no problem taking down the city along with the army that tried to defend it. Oikawa allowed himself to soak in the cries and screams of people dying around him, reminding him of the night that his people had everything taken from them.

“Oikawa, the city is now ours,” Iwaizumi said as he walked into what remained of the city square. A man knelt on the stage, his head lifted up to glare at Oikawa as the Grand King lifted his face to look into his eyes. He had aged quite a bit the last time he saw him, but he could never forget the sight of the man’s face as he killed his father.

“You know who I am,” Oikawa sneered as General Utsui spat, “I don’t, boy. I would have remembered someone as strong as you. I thought we left Seijoh in ruins all those years ago.”

“Oh yes you did. Our people suffered greatly after what you did. You brought us down to our knees, showing us that we were indeed weaker than you. But we didn’t stay down for long. We rose from the ashes, trained our soldiers and now, look at how far you have fallen. I wished I could see the face of your son as I cleave your head off your shoulders,” Oikawa grinned, almost dizzy with bliss as General Utsui spat, “Wakatoshi will never lose to you. He is stronger than you think. Your worthless pride will be the death of you.”

Oikawa flicked his wrist, his sword slicing the air as General Utsui’s head detached from his body to roll to Oikawa’s feet. Oikawa kicked the head aside in disdain, annoyed that his leather boot was now filthy with blood as he stepped on the general’s fallen body.

“Don’t you ever forget my worthless pride general. You will scream from the depths of hell as I kill your son myself. Ushiwaka-chan can be defeated, and I will make sure I hit him until he breaks.”


	10. A girl worth fighting for

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we are at chapter 10! Thanks so much for your support for this story so far!

Semi woke up an hour before dawn to the sound of the horn going off, signalling that they are to pack up and leave the camp. She barely managed to open her eyes as the horn sounded across the camp, the shouts of men getting ready for war filling the night as she shuffled out of her sleeping bag and into her armour.

Once she joined the others outside, they began the march to Dateko. Ushijima took the lead, riding a white stallion named Yamagata. Suga rode behind him on his personal horse named Yuu, the brown horse ready to go forward as Suga reined it in from overtaking Ushijima. Ushijima had his brows creased the entire way, his eyes always staring far ahead as the troops marched behind them.

Eita had ended up being put on cannon pulling duty since she was one of the few people with a horse. Azumane didn’t seem too pleased at having to pull such dangerous weapons, resisting initially until Astumu had to bribe it with hay from the heavens before Azumane was willing to be strapped onto the cart. Atsumu and Hinata were a bit too chipper for the occasion, Atsumu whistling a tune under his breath as Hinata chirped to the beat.

Tendou and the others were about as half-dead as her, trudging along the hills and valleys. Goshiki spent most of the time moaning about not being able to eat while Tendou merely stood at the back with Eita, his eyes watching her closely as she wondered if he had indeed discovered her secret. Knowing Tendou, the man was much more perceptive than the others, picking up on situations very easily and often resulting in him blurting out information that most people were trying to hide.

That was one of the reasons he was called the Guess Monster; he was always about 99% correct with his guesses.

“One more time you complain and I am going to cut off your tongue, Goshiki,” Shirabu warned as he walked in front of the group, his helmet covering his head a little too much. He kept having to push it out of his face since when it slid down, it pressed down his bangs and fringe to block his eyesight, making him much more irritable at having to deal with the extra effort.

The other soldiers weren’t any better, most of them just grumbling to themselves about how stupid it was about having to march out to Dateko that was about five days away from where they were.

“Hey, Atsumu, what are you singing?” Eita asked as the fox’s whistling got louder. He poked his head from the cart as he grinned, some of the men’s ears pricking at the sound as they began to hum it to.

“Oh, this? It's just an old war song about men going home to their wives or young soldiers wanting a wife. Nothing to it. Wanna hear?” he grinned as he whistled louder, the hum of the soldiers picking up the tune increasing as they all began to chant as one, their voices carrying across the plains as they walked.

“For a long time, we’ve been marching off to battle.”

“With our thundering herd, we feel a lot like cattle,” Goshiki moaned as some of the cattle grazings nearby glared at him with the offense.

“Luke the pounding beat, our aching feet aren’t easy to ignore.”

“Hey,” Tendou smirked as he slung his arms around Goshiki and Shirabu, pulling them close as he sang, “Think of instead. A girl worth fighting for.”

“Huh?’ Eita murmured as Tendou smirked, “That’s what I said! A girl worth fighting for! I want her paler than the moon, with eyes that shine like stars…”

“My girl will marvel at my strength, adore my battle scars,” Goshiki gushed.

“I couldn’t care less what she’ll wear or what she looks like! It all depends on what she cooks like, beef, pork chicken,” one of the men groaned as everyone stomach’s grumbled to the thought.

Soon, they were crossing the river, swords held high in the air as Goshiki sang, “Be the local girls thought you were quite the charmer!” before plunging into the deep end of the water for Tendou to yank him out.

“And I bet the ladies love a man in armour,” Tendou sang as he squeezed the water out of his armour, returning to his thin frame as he snickered.

“You can guess what we have missed the most since we went off to war! What do we want? A girl worth fighting for!”

Eita covered her face as she felt some faces of women looking in her direction, some of them pointing and giggling at the singing men as she tried not to die from embarrassment. She liked men, not girls!

“My girl will think I have no flaws,” Goshiki sang.

“That I am a major find,” Tendou grinned as Eita raked her brain, “Uh, how about a girl who’s got a brain, who always speaks her mind?”

Goshiki and Tendou gaped at her before collectively saying, “Nah” and Goshiki slinging an arm around her, “My manly ways and turn of phrase are sure to thrill her!”

“He thinks he’s such a lady killer!” Tendou laughed as he slapped Azumane’s rump, the horse whinnying to pull away from where Goshiki was leaning against it to fall face-first into the mud. Shirabu snickered as he opened his mouth, Eita staring at him as he sang.

“I have a girl back home unlike any other.”

“Yeah, the only girl who loves him is his mother. Ouch, Shirabu-chan!” Tendou squawked as Shirabu slammed a fist into his crotch.

The army continues its singing, Suga whistling along as they trudged up further up the mountain. The snow was now covering the ground, their feet sinking into it as they continued their march.

“But when we come home, in victory, they’ll line up at the door.”

“What do we want?” Tendou yelled as everyone shouted, “A girl worth fighting for!”

“Wish that I had,” Goshiki sighed as a few men hoisted him up their shoulders, laughing as they sang along, “A girl worth fighting for! What do we want? A girl worth fighting…”

Their singing came to a halt as they finally reached up the mountain, the smell of sulphur and blood filling the air as Ushijima raised his hand, stopping them as they stared at the sight before them. They had been too busy singing earlier to have noticed the scent of burning wood in the air, the snow they stepped on ow covered with soot as the ruined city of Dateko rose before them.

The city was famed to have impenetrable walls; they had been the ones to design the Great Wall that surrounded the nation. Their defence was the best in the country and they manufactured all the weapons for the Allied Nations when they go to war. Whenever they fought, Dateko’s men would be at the front, shields in place as they marched forward. The city was also said to be beautiful in the winter, ice sculptures lining the city square as people walked about celebrating the winter season.

Now, not a single house remained standing, not even so much a beam sticking out of the ground. Everything had been razed to the ground, signs of smoke still rising in the air indicating it hadn’t been long since the city had fallen. Slowly, Ushijima motioned for them to walk into the city, Eita’s heart pumping hard as she accidentally kicked something sticking out of the ground. She looked down to see a charred hand, her hand flying to her mouth as she tried not to gag at the sight.

“Search for survivors!” Ushijima ordered as he galloped off on Yamagata, searching the area ahead as Suga did the same, clicking his heels into Yuu as the horse sprinted off into the snow. The men got to work in pulling through the wreckage, the sounds of people hurling or sobbing filling the air as they tried to find any survivors.

“This is futile. They’re all gone. Seijoh leaves no survivors,” Tendou muttered as he used a fallen beam to dig through the snow, once in a while coming into contact with burnt bodies that shrivelled away upon contact. They were so burnt that they crumbled on contact, turning into dust that mixed with the snow. Goshiki was visibly trying not to cry as Shirabu poked through the snow, his eyes narrowed as he clicked his tongue.

Eita roamed through the now desolated streets as she came up to what remained of a house. A name was driven into the snow, the words charred as the structure in front of it lay in ruins. Eita slowly dusted off the name, reading the kanji as “Takanobu” as she felt her heart sank. She recalled all those years ago of Moniwa coming here to marry a man she fell in love with, even saying she was going to invite people over to visit once they had a child. Aone, her husband was a scary-looking man with the heart of a teddybear, always protective of his lover whenever people seemed to even edge close or show interest in her.

“Moniwa-san,” Eita whispered as she bowed her head low when she saw black hair sticking out of the snow. She slowly scraped off the snow to see a small doll lying on the ground, its black eyes staring into the sky as Eita held it close to her chest. Tears ran down her cheeks as she thought of how Moniwa must have felt when this happened and cursed herself for not coming earlier to help them.

If she had been stronger, if they had been stronger, Moniwa, Aone, all the people living here would still be alive.

The sound of a horse neighing behind her made her whip around, her hand moving to her sword when she heard a person getting down. From the sound of his feet hitting the ground heavily, Eita immediately recognised the rider as Ushijima, the man moving to stand next to her as he whispered, “I don’t understand. My father should have been here…”

For once in his life, Ushijima looked shaken. Even though he didn’t show much on his face, the fear in his eyes was evident. His father was the strongest soldier in the nation. For him to die…

“Captain!” Suga called as he rode over, his face struck with fear as he led them towards the centre of the city. What remained of a square was filled with bodies, most of them in a state of decomposition as Eita tried not to gag. Some of the deceased were missing limbs or heads, the soldiers doing their best to pick through them as Tendou emerged from the other end, carrying something in his hands as Ushijima shuddered.

“I’m sorry, Wakatoshi. But I don’t think you should see him like that,” Tendou whispered as he held out a helmet in his hands, the top of it cracked open as dried blood coated the side. Ushijima pushed him aside as he walked towards the centre of the square, falling to his knees as he picked up a round object from the floor and cradled it in his arms. Tendou moved to stand next to his best friend, a hand on his shoulders as Ushijima mourned.

After kneeling for a good few minutes, Ushijima rose to his feet, his hands pulling out the katana he had picked up from his fallen father in his hands. He unsheathed it and drove it into the ground, the sword sticking between the bricks as he placed his father’s helmet on top of it before bowing. When he turned, Eita saw that there were no tears in his eyes, only grief and sorrow. Tendou turned to speak to him as he moved away from him, shaking his hand off his shoulder as he faced his troops. Most of the men were shaken by what was around them, some of them trying not to puke as Suga sighed.

This was what war was.

Death and destruction awaited those who were not strong enough.

“Seijoh is moving quickly! We’ll make better time to the Imperial City through the pass. We’re the only hope for the Emperor now. Set the bodies on fire before moving out. Move!” Ushijima ordered as the men slowly began to carry out the task of setting the bodies on fire. They couldn’t leave them to rot like that; not only will there be a chance of a plague but there was also the chance of contamination from them.

Eita moved to the Takanobu’s house as she placed the doll back on the ground. All around her, she could smell burning flesh as the men set the corpses on fire, turning Dateko into a sea of fire as Eita bowed her head low.

“Moniwa-san. I will avenge you, don’t you worry.”


	11. If we die, we die with honour

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is here! While I kinda gave up watching the movie because I am not someone to watch it in tiny bits and pieces when trying to write this, can still remember what happens after watching it so many times as a kid.
> 
> Enjoy!

It has been three days since they left Dateko, the soldiers already physically drained from all the walking they had done. The weather was kind to them either, the cold seeping into the armour as some of the men shivered. They could barely get any good sleep with the cold and the fear of coming into contact with Dateko at any given moment, everyone on the edge of their seats as a silent Ushijima took the lead. Even Suga, who was normally the optimist of the group was silent as he prayed for his lover’s safety back in the Imperial City.

As they reached the top of the pass, Eita was about to yawn when she heard a loud bang coming out from inside the cart. Azumane gave a shrill whinny as a canon shot into the sky, exploding into a shower of sparks as everyone gaped at it. Eita turned to who the culprit was, Atsumu gawking at it as he pointed a paw to Hinata who chirped in protest as Ushijima yelled, “What the hell was that? You just gave away our position and…”

He gave out a grunt as an arrow embedded itself into his shoulder, the Captain falling to the ground as his horse reared up. There was a cacophony of roars as arrow rained across the sky, the soldiers scrambling like ants to get to shelter as some of the arrows hit their targets. Some soldiers fell to the ground, arrows sticking out from their bodies as others screamed in pain, their comrades trying to drag them away from the onslaught. Shirabu had grabbed his bow and arrows, shouting for the archers to follow him as Ushijima ripped the arrow from his shoulder, grimacing at the pain as Tendou yelled his name.

“Wakatoshi!” he yelled as Ushijima shouted, “Save the cannons! Get to the row of rocks 50 metres from where we are and set them off towards the mountains!”

Tendou nodded as he ran for the cart where Azumane was rearing up, trying its best to get away from the arrows as Eita tried to calm it down. Already some soldiers were beginning to transport the cannons out of the cart, Goshiki grabbing a few in his arms when a shout came from the cart.

“The cart is on fire!” someone yelled as the soldiers hurried their pace. Most of them scrambled to the row of rocks as Ushijma instructed them to do, propping up the cannons onto the rocks to give them leverage as Ushijima shouted, “Fire at will!”

The sound of cannons going off filled the air as the cannon rocketed towards the enemy archers, hitting the side of the mountain where they were hiding as the men scrambled to get away. The smell of gunpowder filled the air as the men continued to shoot, Ushijima shouting orders to continue firing as Suga shouted, “Are you mad?! You’re just wasting the cannons!”

“If we don’t fire, we would all be dead!” Ushijima shouted as he continued the charge.

Eita, on the other hand, was trying to get her horse under control as Atsumu and Hinata scrambled out of the cart with a cannon in their hands. Azumane whinnied as Eita retrieved her sword from her side, swinging it up to cut the horse away from the cart before jumping onto its back. She barely managed to get ten feet away when the cart exploded, sending her and Azumane flying as the horse screamed. Eita hit the ground hard, her head swimming as she tried to scramble to her feet when she felt paws tugging her elbow.

“Come on, we gotta go!” Atsumu shouted as he snatched at her sleeve with his teeth, trying desperately to pull her forward as arrows continued to rain over their heads. Hinata was trying his best to hop out of the way, the tiny cricket chirping loudly as Eita turned to see Azumane slowly getting up. The horse whinnied as it raced towards its owner, nudging her to get up as Eita grabbed onto his reins and hauled herself to her feet as they began to lead her away.

“Semisemi! Are you alright?” Tendou shouted over the sound of cannon fire. He had his hands clamped over his ears as Goshiki let loose another cannon, Shirabu bringing up the rear with the archers as they tried to shoot any stragglers from the other side. Already Shirabu had managed to hit a couple of them, bodies falling into the crevice below as he hit his mark. As much as Semi hated to admit, he was much better at her at archery, his keen eyesight allowing him to see several hundred metres away at the time.

“Don’t just stand there! Get shooting!” he yelled as he let loose another arrow, Goshiki trembling as he stumbled in lighting up the cannon as his matches fell from his hands. The poor boy was shaking so much he could barely keep the cannon straight, the weapon moving dangerously close to the ground when Ushijima yelled, “Hold your fire!”

The sound of cannons ceased immediately, silence filling the air as Eita’s ringing ears finally managed to adjust to the sound. It felt so weird to not be bombarded by the sound, her head slowly coming back into focus when she saw just how many soldiers they had lost. The same men she had trained with, even those who had tried to assault her on her first day in camp, lay dead in the snow, the blood soaking the white terrain as Goshiki sobbed beside her. Ushijima walked up to stand behind him, Goshiki slowly trying to wipe away his tears as he ordered him to hold onto his cannon. The boy gripped onto it for dear life, nodding as his commander turned his gaze to the top of the mountain, the smoke beginning to clear to reveal a man riding on a stallion, the dark horse whinnying as the man looked down on them.

Even from this distance, Eita could feel his grin cutting through her, his hand clutching the reins of his horse as another horse pulled up from behind him. The man next to him was unsmiling, unruly hair covering his face as he stood beside his King, a few more joining their side until the sound of an army marching up from behind filled the air. Eita felt her stomach drop as she saw how outnumbered they were right now, Seijoh outnumbering them ten to one, not to mention that they were out of weapons except for their swords.

Seijoh’s army roared as the soldiers pounded against their chest, chanting as their King stood before them, raising his hand into the air as he smirked. Ushijima turned to his men, unsheathing his sword as he stood before them, his mouth set in a grim line as he shouted.

“Prepare to fight! If we die, we die with honour!” he shouted as what remained of their company unsheathed their swords, some of the men sobbing as the clung onto their weapons. Suga did the same as he unsheathed a katana from his hip, crowd adorning the hilt that glinted in the light, making them seem like they were going to take flight into the air. Suga had a grim expression on his face, his eyes set on his enemy ahead of him as Tendou smirked.

“You ready for this?” he grinned as he twirled his sword in his hand, Tendou’s eyes sparked a bit too much for the fight ahead of them as Eita nodded, “Let’s do this.”

Oikawa let out a yell as he unsheathed his sword, brandishing it in the air as he galloped ahead, Iwaizumi following suit as the rest of the commanders trailed behind them. The army roared as they road down the steep slope, snow trailing in their wake as the small company of Shiratorizawa stood its ground, trying not to tremble as they awaited their doom.

…

Oikawa just loved the idea of looking down at his enemies.

He didn’t think that Ushijima would fall for their bait of letting loose of all of their cannons. He thought the man would have put in more thought before he wasted his most prized weapon in taking out the archers. While Oikawa did have a bit of remorse for letting some of his men go, he still felt it was worth it in taking the final step to his plan.

First, take out their main weapon. By showering them with arrows and not giving the group much of a standing chance it getting back at them, the only way they could do so was use their cannons. When he had finally cut them off their source, they would then charge and lay waste to the group before taking to the Imperial City where Emperor Daichi was. Oikawa licked his lips at how he was going to make the man beg on his knees to spare his people just the way his father had done so long ago.

“Stop smiling. You’re creeping me out,” Iwaizumi muttered as he rode by his side. His companion had thought his plan was a coward’s way to go in defeating their enemy rather than facing them head-on, although Oikawa begged to differ. He promised him plenty of soldiers would remain for him to slaughter on the field, Iwaizumi’s eyes shining at the prospect as their two best friends rode up from behind.

Makki and Matsun were just about the only reason the two of them were still sane and hadn’t gone down the route of being bloodthirsty killers. While Makki and Matsun were formidable warriors in their own right, they still found the time to pull some pranks that made the troops laugh or tease Oikawa and Iwaizumi about when they were going to get married.

“Are we ready yet?” Makki moaned as Matsun snickered, ‘Hope so. They really did use up a lot of ammo just to get rid of a few archers.”

“Those few archers have bought us the chance we needed. Let’s not let that go to waste. Yahaba-chan. Maddog-chan, status report,” Oikawa said as two more men came up beside them.

“About fifty soldiers remained and they are down to the last cannon,” Yahaba reported as Oikawa smiled, “About time.”

He clicked his heels into his horse, moving to ride in front of his army. All his men were restless for this moment, their horses stamping their hooves into the ground as their riders thirst for blood. They had been wanting revenge on Karasuno for so long, they could feel the blood of their enemies calling out for them.

“Now then. I…”

“We know, Oikawa. We trust you too,” the group said as Oikawa smiled, sweeping his cape back as he turned to look down into the valley where they had the group trapped. He smirked as he saw Ushijima looking right at him, the Captain’s eyes meeting his as Oikawa licked his lips. He exhibited the same arrogance as his late father had and Oikawa couldn’t help but want to wipe it off his face as soon as he can.

Oikawa reached to his side to unsheathe the katana that lay at his belt, the sound of the metal unsheathing filling the air as Oikawa hollered, “Charge!”

Mad dog-chan took the lead, snarling as he raced down the mountain to get first dibs on the enemy. Yahaba hung at the back, his hand on his bow as he got ready to shoot. Makki and Matsu hollered as they charged with the rest of the troops, swords in the air as Iwaizumi rode next to Oikawa, turning to give his best friend a fist bump before both of them joined the fray.


	12. Can you run from an avalanche? (uh no?)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come to think of it, when is the live action movie going to come out? (although I have mixed feelings about it since there isn't any Mushu or Shang with defeats the whole point of it)

Things were looking dire.

The Seijoh army was charging straight at them, led by a man with a bad dye job as he snarled. Eita could feel his bloodlust seeping through her skin, sending shivers up her spine as Atsumu and Hinata quivered underneath her armour where they had found shelter.

“Holy shit… we’re dead. We’re so dead. Then Osamu would laugh at me and I would get demoted even further…” Atsumu stuttered as Hinata chirped, trying to calm the deity down as Eita glanced down at her sword, trying to figure out what to do when she heard Ushijima order Goshiki to hand the cannon over to Shirabu.

“Shirabu, aim the cannon at Oikawa,” he ordered as the boy moved into position, his hands shifting the cannon to aim at Oikawa who was riding somewhere in the centre of the crowd with Iwaizumi by his side. Shirabu clicked his tongue at how difficult it would be to directly hit him as something shone from Eita’s sword, her hand twisting it to reveal the tip of the mountain behind her.

Her hands were moving before she could think, grabbing the cannon out of Shirabu’s hands and charging straight into the crowd.

“What the hell are you doing?!” Shirabu yelled as he scrambled to get up, Ushijima shouting at the men to go grab her as she charged. Eita’s heart pounded in her ears as she ran forward, not stopping even as Atsumu shouted, “Are you trying to go kamikaze or something?! How are you going to even shoot Oikawa like this?!”

Eita reached the spot she had aimed for, digging the cannon into the ground as she reached into her armour for her matches. She scrambled to strike a match, the cold quickly wiping it out as she heard the sound of hooves pounding towards her. Mad dog’s eyes were gleaming wildly as he licked his lips, his sword in hand as his horse charged forward, steam blowing out from its nostrils as Atsumu shouted, “You better get to it!”

“Can you make a fire dammit?!” she shouted as Atsumu yelled, “Of course I can! I’m a god..”

“Then do it!” she shouted as she reached into her armour, yanking Atsumu out by the tail as the fox squawked. She pointed him right at the tip of the wick, yanking Atsumu’s tail as he yelled, fire spitting out of his mouth as Eita released the fox to position the cannon went it went off, the head of the cannon flying off into the mountains with Atsumu in tow.

“How could you do this? How could you do this to me?!” he howled as the cannon hit home, a grin spreading on her lips as she saw the top of the mountain beginning to collapse and with it, bringing an avalanche as Seijoh began to realise what was happening. Horses were whinnying as their riders tried to get them under control, the soldiers desperate to get out of the way of the snow as Eita heard a growl, “You stupid little…”

Eita felt something cutting through her as she fell backwards, pain stinging her abdomen as she tried to scramble away. Mad dog’s horse decided to rear up at that moment, Mad dog trying to steady it when he turned his head to the army, his eyes catching onto one soldier as he murmured, “Yahaba” before turning back and taking off into the crowd. Eita took the chance to scramble away, the pain almost disappearing with the adrenaline flowing through her veins as she heard Azumane charging towards her. She quickly slung her way on top of the horse, Hinata chirping as he held onto her, Eita digging her heels to ride back to her group when she saw Tendou, Goshiki and Shirabu trying to run towards her, swords in hand when they realised what was happening in front of them.

“Uh, I think now would be a good idea to RUN!” Tendou shouted as they turned their heels and ran back in the direction of their group, most of the soldiers scrambling for the high ground. Eita saw Ushijima pulling Yamagata to a stop before turning back, Suga already reaching the high ground as he shouted for them to get up when the avalanche hit them at full force. Eita felt herself slipping into the snow, Azumane whinnying as it was sucked by the avalanche. Ushijima shouted for her before getting pulled under as well, Yamagata trying its best to stay afloat as both horses and their riders were sucked under.

Eita only saw black for a few moments, the roar of snow shifting above her filling her ears as she tried to breach the surface. Her fingers froze as she tried to cling onto Azumane’s reins, the horse desperately trying to breach the surface as it kicked up. Eita urged the horse up, gripping the reins tightly as they breached the surface, Eita taking a gulp of air when she saw Ushijima being swept away by the current, his body limp as she shouted his name.

“Wakatoshi!” she yelled as she pulled Azumane towards him, the horse wading through the snow to allow her to grip onto him. She grunted at how heavy he was, her hands reaching to yank him on top when Yamagata breached the surface as well, whinnying as it realised where they were headed. Eita felt her heart drop as she saw the big drop into the valley below them, quickly digging her heels into Azumane’s side when she heard a yell coming from an incoming shield.

“Hey, what the hell?!” Atsumu yelled as he slid up next to them and scrambled on. He had Hinata in his grip, the poor cricket slowly dying from the cold when he realised what was going on.

“Who put that there!?” he shouted as he scrambled to try and get away from the edge, Eita desperately trying to look for a way out when she quickly grabbed her bow and arrow and aimed it just as they fell over the edge. She barely managed to keep Ushijima on as she fired, the arrow sailing through the air as she felt their bodies being suspended in mid-air. The wind howled in her ears as she tried not to think of dying when she felt themselves coming to a stop, followed by some yells as Goshiki shouted, “Pull!”

“We’re trying dammit!” Shirabu shouted as Tendou’s voice joined in, “Semisemi! Please tell me you’re alive with Wakatoshi! I’m not going to haul up two corpses for nothing!”

“We’re alive!” Eita shouted as Tendou whooped, the group slowly being pulled up as soldiers shouted, “Heave ho!” Bit by bit, they inched up to the top before finally reaching solid ground, Azumane whinnying as it got up from the side and Eita and Ushijima were dumped onto the ground, Eita coughing as she tried to catch her breath. Ushijima shifted in the ground, groaning as he sat up before turning to look at everyone.

“Come on guys. Give them some air,” Tendou chided before throwing himself onto Eita as he sobbed, “Semisemi! I thought you were dead!” Real tears fell from his eyes as he held onto her, Goshiki sobbing loudly from nearby as he thanked the gods for their safety. Eita wanted to just lean into Tendou at the moment and relax when she heard Ushijima telling Tendou to move aside. Tendou grinned sheepishly as he scooted away, giving Eita some space as the Captain got to his feet, wobbling slightly before turning to face Eita.

“Semi, you’re one of the dumbest, reckless people I ever met. But you saved my life. From now on,” he smiled as he offered a hand to Eita to pull her up, her heart beating at how this was the first time she ever saw him smiled as he said, “I offer you my trust.”

“Cheers to Eita! King of the Mountain!” Goshiki shouted as he grabbed onto Shirabu hugging him as the boy protested. Tendou was laughing, crushing Suga in a bone-breaking hug as the Advisor tried his best not to run over to Eita to give her a hug. Suga had always been the mother of the group and he was just so happy to see one of his chicks alive and well. Even Ushijima couldn’t stop smiling as Eita took his hand, a small smile spreading on her lips when she felt a burst of pain spreading across her abdomen. Her head spun as she crumpled backwards, Ushijima barely catching her as she stared at the growing patch of blood on her abdomen.

“He’s wounded! Get help!” Ushijima shouted as he carried her bridal style. Already some of the soldiers were making a makeshift tent, the doctor in charge scrambling to get his equipment as Eita faded into unconsciousness. As she leaned against Ushijima’s chest, she could hear his pounding heart as he whispered to her, his voice soft as he said, “You will be alright. Hold on. Just… hold on.”

…

Oikawa did not expect things to turn out like this. As the avalanche began to catch up on them and sweep up the army in its path, Oikawa had to do his best not to panic as they tried to get out of its path, most of the men getting sucked under.

He couldn’t die like this. He couldn’t die in a freaking avalanche.

“Yahaba!” a voice yelled as Mad dog came riding back, Yahaba shouting, “What the hell are you doing, Kyoutani?! We’re going to die if you don’t get away!”

“The hell I’m leaving you!” he shouted as he rode towards Yahaba, his fingers brushing on the man’s shoulder when they were caught in the blast, both of them getting thrown off their horses as Oikawa shouted. Matsukawa and Hanamaki were nearby as well, both of them trying to do their best to stick together before getting swept under as well. He could hear their shouts as they got pulled under, leaving just him and Iwaizumi standing as they tried to run away in futile. The only thing waiting for them at the end was a drop into the gorge below, sending them tumbling to their deaths if they didn’t steer clear in time.

Oikawa’s horse whinnied as it bucked up, Oikawa scrambling to hold onto the reins when he felt himself falling back. The Grand King didn’t have time to shout as he felt himself hitting the ice, a rough hand reaching to narrowly pull him back out as he heard Iwaizumi shouting, “Hang on, Shittykawa!”

He didn’t stay in that position for long as Iwaizumi was thrown off his horse, his hand leaving him as Oikawa tried to reach out. Iwaizumi’s fingers barely brushed his as he flew into the ice, the snow swallowing him whole as Oikawa screamed, “Hajime!”

He scrambled to swim towards his lover even as the ice dragged him under, choking the life out of him as black spots filled his vision. Oikawa could only close his eyes as the darkness enveloped him, praying that if he died now, he might at least be able to join Iwaizumi and the others soon.


	13. He's a woman

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When so many new fanfiction are being updated and filling your inbox to the point you forgot to write your own fanfics... gah these few days have been mad (reading more than 50,000 words of fanfics every day and I'm pretty sure I read about 100,000 words yesterday alone).
> 
> Hope you enjoy this!

Shirabu Kenjirou often found life to be a pain in the ass.

Just because he was born as the eldest son to a dojo instructor and a physician, he was left with two simple choices; inherit the dojo and train people to shoot, which he hated since he couldn’t stand the sight of others, or inherit his mother’s hospital. While he didn’t mind dissecting dead bodies and animals whenever his father brought him along to a few lab sessions with his students, playing games of naming various body parts that were on display in the small hospital his mother worked at or belittle students into the ground, he felt he should at least have a choice on what to do with his life.

Inheriting the hospital, marrying the daughter of another physician or a rich man to secure more funding for his hospital, Shirabu had never felt like his own person. So he dealt with life as he went along, following orders without using much of his brain until he was conscripted into the army.

On top of having to deal with training in the army, Shirabu had to deal with treating the wounds of soldiers that pissed him off to no end. Most of the injuries they sustained were often from fistfights rather than from combat training and Shirabu just wished they would make his life a bit easier.

So when he was tasked with treating one of his closest allies (he wasn’t sure to consider Semi a friend), he wondered if he was up to the task. Stomach wounds were quite tricky and Semi had passed out from the shock of it, Ushijima sweeping into the makeshift tent that the others had set up for him to do his work. Trying to warm his hands so he could actually hold the instruments he needed to use, Shirabu watched as Ushijima slowly lay Semi onto the futon, his hands quickly undoing her armour when Shirabu stopped him.

“Ushijima-san, you should rest. I will handle this,” he said as Ushijima slowly nodded. Shirabu was just about one of the few people he ever asked for opinions or listened to his instructions. Grateful that he was now left alone with Semi, Shirabu got to work, slowly pulling apart armour and exposing the wound as he cleaned it up.

Luckily the wound wasn’t too deep, although it may leave a nasty scar. Shirabu reckoned Semi should be alright to move the next day after some bedrest and taking some of the medicine he prescribed. He crushed some dry herbs with the mortar and pestle, grinding the herbs together to make a paste that he swabbed onto her stomach once he had cleaned the wound. He slowly rolled up Semi’s shirt, exposing white skin now blemished with red when he noticed that Semi’s chest was all wrapped up. He slowly removed the top of the soldier’s shirt, exposing his upper torso as he noticed the rises of skin on his chest.

No… he couldn’t be…

Shirabu gulped as he reached down to Semi’s pants, lifting it so slightly so he could get a glimpse of what he was looking for before letting it fall down, the heat rising in his face as he realised who Semi really was.

The reason why he had never gone to the baths with them, always being the first one in and out of them or how he never took off his shirt despite how much sweat clung onto him.

It made so much more sense now.

Semi Eita wasn’t a man at all.

He, no, _she._

She was a woman.

But why though? Why would a woman go onto the battlefield and risk her life for others when she could stay at home? She could have avoided getting injured or worse, execution. Women were not allowed in the army and finding one is punishable by death. Shirabu had thought the rules stupid and that Emperor Daichi would have the brains to lift the law when he came into power but guessed he didn’t take into account of a girl going ahead and joining the army.

Shirabu felt himself turn red at the number of times he had accidentally hit Semi by the chest or kicked her in the supposed groin area, Goshiki shoving him against her in their wrestling matches. All this time, he had the change to actually touch boobs and be with a proper woman. Shirabu almost felt his fingers twitch at the thought of touching the small rises on her chest, his fingers moving ever so slightly to it when he mentally slapped himself to get to work.

He wasn’t here to grope his comrade.

Although he didn’t know if he was going to do her a favour by letting her live.

…

When Eita awoke, she felt her head pounding along with a smell filling the air that made her stomach turn. Speaking of her stomach, the area ached as she tried to sit up, the blankets falling around her as she shuddered in the cold. She heard someone suck in a breath as she turned to see Shirabu sitting in the corner, arms crossed as he looked at his patient.

“Hey, Shirabu, you patched me up?” she asked as Shirabu snapped, “Why? Why did you lie to us and risk yourself getting killed?”

That was when Eita realised that she was naked from the upper part of her body. She was glad she had wrapped her chest so it didn’t give Shirabu any access to her upper body although seeing it was already evident enough of what she had been hiding. She bit her lip as the tent flap was pushed aside, Eita’s heart dropping as she came face to face with Ushijima. His eyes wandered over her body for just a moment, Shirabu sighing as he said, “Told you she was a woman.”

Ushijima didn’t speak for a moment, his eyes clouded as Eita tried to scramble for an excuse as he said, “Why did you hide your identity as a woman?”

When Eita didn’t answer, Ushijima reached out and grabbed her by the hair, Shirabu shouting as he yanked her to her feet. Eita’s stomach throbbed as she hastily wrapped her body in the blankets, the cold biting into the skin as she was tossed into the snow. Some gasps rang in the air as Tendou rushed towards her only to stop in his tracks gaping at the sight of her as Goshiki yelped, “Wait? You’re a girl?”

“Seriously, what the hell?! I thought you were just a bit softer than us but to think you’re an actual girl? Semisemi, why didn’t you say anything?” Tendou squawked as Suga yelled, “Ushijima, stop!”

Ushijima had gone to Azumane and retrieved Eita’s sword from its sheath, the horse whinnying as Suga tried to calm it down. The Advisor was shocked at what he was about to do even though Ushijima had told him of the situation, Suga’s eyes locking onto Eita’s as the girl bowed her head in shame.

“Hey, Wakatoshi! What are you doing?!” Tendou yelled as Ushijima marched past him. He grabbed onto his friend's hand only to be shoved away, Tendou smashing into Goshiki as Shirabu appeared from the tent, “Captain! Don’t kill her!”

“Why not?! She’s a woman and she deserves to die! She has broken the law and mingled among us all this time! If I knew that I would have done so many things with her!” a soldier shouted as another joined in, “Its taboo for them to join. Women are bad luck on the battlefield and look where it got us!”

“We lost most of our friends! Our allies! Brothers who fought sweat and blood with us and now they’re dead because of her!”

“Death to the woman!”

“Execute her!”

The chants rose into the air as Eita pressed her face into the ground. She was unable to look up as she bowed her head in shame, the footsteps of Ushijima approaching crunching in the snow as she begged to the gods to spare her. There was no sign of Atsumu or Hinata, the two of them have gone somewhere else as Ushijima finally stopped in front of her. She could see the tip of the sword hitting the ground, the glint of the katana showing her pathetic face as she tried not to cry.

No.

If she was going to die, she was going to watch as her life bleeds before her eyes.

“Captain Ushijima! Please reconsider your actions! She is a valuable ally, a soldier who stopped Seijoh! Why kill her because of her gender?!” Suga shouted as Tendou joined in, “Wakatoshi, I thought you know better than to execute someone for something as petty as this…”

“Silence!” Ushijima shouted as all the men shut up, Eita not daring to look up at how Ushijima was glaring down at her now. Was he ashamed of even associating himself with her now that a woman had saved his life?

The sound of whistling filled the air as the katana was lifted up, Eita pressing her head into the ground as she snarled, “What are you waiting for captain? Do it!”

It was fine.

She didn’t mind dying here as a hero.

At least she wouldn’t have to go home and burden her parents anymore.

“Eita!” Tendou yelled as the sword cut through the air, Eita bracing for impact as Ushijima stopped midway, his hand releasing the sword to drop it before Eita’s feet. Eita stared at it as Ushijima walked away, slowly lifting her head to see his face when she saw how pained he looked. Her heart wrenched in her chest as Ushijima looked into her eyes.

“A life for a life. My debt is repaid. All of you, move out!” he shouted as everyone hastily began to pack their bags. Goshiki moved towards Eita before being stopped by Tendou, who shook his head as he turned to give Eita a nod of apology. Shirabu moved to place his equipment into bags, shouldering them as he walked past Eita. He didn’t speak a word as he joined his comrades, the soldiers moving towards the Imperial City below them as Eita watched on, tears in her eyes as she bowed her head in dishonour.

…

_Oikawa thought he saw the light in front of his eyes, his body heavy as he tried to crawl to the surface. The snow was so thick above him, slowly suffocating him as he tried to reach out, wishing he could end his suffering when a single voice spoke to him._

_“Don’t give up, Tooru. Your time hasn’t come yet.”_

_“Father?”_

_“You’ve been brave my boy. Just a little more and you shall be free.”_

Oikawa cried out as he burst through the snow, fumbling for air as he crawled out of the ground. His chest was heavy as he took in gulps of air, his vision coming back into focus as he saw the bodies of his comrades buried under the snow. The flag of Seijoh now flew tattered in the sky, the sign of the crown torn when Oikawa heard a yell, “Oi Oikawa! Iwaizumi! You’re alive?”

“Matsun! Makki!” Oikawa yelped as his friends came close, bringing him to his feet and allowing him to collapse into their arms. Oikawa sobbed as he held onto them, both of them patting his back as Mad dog and Yahaba came up from behind. Yahaba was leaning against Mad dog, his face pale from the shock of the avalanche while Mad dog looks ready to tear through the person who had injured his lover.

‘Iwa-chan? Where’s Iwa-chan?” Oikawa whispered as Matsukawa shook his head, “Sorry, Oikawa. We couldn’t find him. We tried searching but it will take forever to find him.”

Oikawa collapsed onto the snow, his hands moving to shovel snow aside in an attempt to find his best friend. He had been right beside him when they were swept away; he had to be alive. Iwaizumi was a gorilla, a brute who can never be hurt.

He couldn’t leave him behind.

He couldn’t be dead.

“Iwa-chan… Iwa-chan!” Oikawa yelled as he slammed his fists into the ground, sobbing as he tried in vain to find his loved one. The others could only stand and watch as Oikawa failed to find him, his fingers slowly turning numb from the cold as he finally stood up to face what remained of his men.

“I’m going to find Emperor Daichi and take his kingdom. But first thing first, I have the head of a General waiting on a silver platter for me in the Imperial City.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts and feelings on this?


	14. Small talk on the mountain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the next chapter! I'm planning on releasing chapters every three days or so (and maybe one chapter back to back on the weekends if I manage to churn them out) so bear with me!
> 
> If you're wondering about Atsumu's past, it will be explained in this chapter.
> 
> Also, I just realised I forgot to name each chapter but oh well. 
> 
> Enjoy!

_When a pair of twin gods are born, it is often said that what immense power that was supposed to reside in the body of one ends up being split into half. In the case of the Miya twins, Osamu got a tad bit more than his brother, making him the much more sought after Miya god._

_Atsumu hated being called the lesser half of the two. He had been vying for attention for as long as he could remember, trying in every way to catch up to his brother. He trained hard to hone his powers, mastering just about every random godly art he could find in the scrolls of the Inarizaki god’s mansion library, but he never did manage to catch up to him._

_So Atsumu decided to do the opposite of what his brother did; if Osamu was calm and collected, he would be wild and rude. Where his brother lacked in being a jerk, Atsumu thrived in driving everyone up the wall with his antics. It was no surprise that hardly anyone requested for his help in the mortal world but one day, a specific request for him had come in for the son of the Semi family who was headed off to war._

_At the time of the request, Atsumu had been so drunk and trying to get himself laid by an Itachiyama god, he didn’t think twice before telling the man to charge into battle before returning to his business in heaven. Not even ten minutes of shoving his tongue down the other gods throat, Atsumu had been summoned by Kita and was informed his charge had died a brutal death, a shameful one where he had been beheaded because he hadn’t look properly at where he was running._

_Since then, Atsumu had been demoted from being a main Inarizaki god to being the gong ringer whose primary job was waking up the ancestors of the shrine. Atsumu thought his time to die would never come from how boring life was then. None of the other gods would associate themselves with him, calling him a disgrace and a fool for all his worth. His brother threw himself into work in an attempt to try and forget how much Atsumu had disgraced the Miya name and how he had to improve their tarnished reputation. Since they were twins and most of the mortals always mistook them for the same person as they were born with the same hair colour, Osamu had to do everything he could to make sure they knew who was the twin who screwed up in their one time mission._

_And now, after trying to steal the spotlight for his brother, Atsumu had led another member of the Semi family to disgrace._

…

“Atsumu-san! Atsumu-san!” a squeak rambled through his mind as he felt himself getting dragged through the snow. He thought he might have finally gone to heaven for real as a dead man when he saw that Azumane had managed to pull him from the snow, the horse annoyed at having to go out of its way to save him whilst Hinata was crying next to him. The small cricket was jumping up and down as he ran over to Atsumu, barrelling into his fur as he sobbed at how worried he was.

“I thought you were dead! You just disappeared after we fell from the edge and I had to ask Azumane-san to try and find you. Atsumu-san!!!! Don’t leave me like this!” Hinata wailed as the small cricket hugged him as best as he could. Atsumu tried to resist the urge to pull the cricket into a hug as Azumane grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and tossed him onto its back before trotting off, Hinata sitting next to him as Azumane brought them to where Eita was crouched on the ground. The poor girl only had a thin blanket wrapped around her shoulders, his stomach wrapped in bandages as she tried to get the fire started. Atsumu slowly slipped from Azumane’s back and walked over to Eita, breathing a small ball of flames into the sad pile of wood that they had collected from broken arrows as the girl nodded with thanks.

“Let me guess, they found out you’re a girl and they abandoned you?” Atsumu asked as Eita nodded.

“Well, I guess that was to be expected. I thought I could finally get somewhere with this, bringing home a war hero that was a girl, getting back to the top shelf as a god and winning the others over. Man, what a ride,” Atsumu grunted as he reached into the small bag of food rations that had been left behind, stabbing a dumpling with an abandoned arrow and hovering it over the flames, the small flames sadly licking the dumpling as Eita whispered, “I should have never tried to leave home.”

“You were worried about your father. You couldn’t help it, couldn’t you?”

“As a girl, I have already disgraced my family name. I cannot go back without people knowing what I have done and the army would never welcome me back. I betrayed the trust of my comrades; I don’t even deserve to be alive.”

  
“Now now, that’s a bit too harsh.”

“You know I’m right, Atsumu… after all the love my parents showed to me and how much they prayed to the gods, this was what happened. I’ve lost everything, Atsumu. I don’t even know how to continue from here one out.”

Atsumu felt his heart broke as he knew part of the reason she was like this was that he lacked the power and wisdom to help her. He didn’t draw up strategies like Osamu did and followed the advice of their elders; heck, he wasn’t even supposed to get this job in the first place! The more he thought about it, the more distressed he felt about how much he had failed this young girl.

Heck, he even failed Hinata by telling him he was a great god who was also a pro in volleyball.

“The truth is, Eita, I’m the weaker half of the Miya brothers. My older twin, Osamu was the one they wanted to take care of you and I’m sure he would have done a better job. Samu is always more collected than me and much stronger, its no wonder he’s the stronger of the both of us. Instead of trying to earn my place, I took to drinking and sleeping around, fooling with my studies until I can no longer even catch up to the weakest person in the Inarizaki clan. For all the wrong I have done, of all the lies I have told you, I’m sorry,” Atsumu said as he bowed his head low, his ears scraping into the snow as Hinata chirped, “Atsumu-san, that’s not true!”

The little cricket had tears running from his eyes as he grabbed Atsumu’s face with his hands, caressing the fox’s face as best as he could as he sobbed, “Atsumu-san, a cricket like me doesn’t have very long to live. I don’t have anything to live for, thought I would spend my days eating grass and just dying. But you decided to let me in on your adventure and take me around the country, showing me sights I would have never seen on my own. The boring life I thought I would have led was shattered because of you, Atsumu-san. You’re not weak, although you can be irresponsible and annoying and you’re a great guy and I… I… I like you a lot, Atsumu-san!”

Atsumu’s jaw nearly dropped at the cricket’s confession as Hinata gave him a peck on the lips. It was strange for the small cricket to be doing something like that, a blush spreading across his tiny face as Atsumu himself began to cry. He slowly reached out to Hinata as he cradled him in his arms, the two sobbing loudly as Azumane whinnied in annoyance.

“Thank you for everything Atsumu. I wouldn’t have made it this far without everything that happened. And as for you, little cricket,” Eita smiled as she scooped Hinata into her hands and gave him a peck on the cheek, making the cricket dizzy as she said, “Thanks for keeping Atsumu in check.”

Hinata chirped as she set him onto the ground, the girl moving to back her things and throwing on her tunic. She winced as she tried her best not to reopen her stomach wound, Atsumu morphing into his human form as he helped steady her on her feet and began the process of hoisting everything onto Azumane.

“I know it will be hard, but let me assure you, your parents will still love you no matter what. And you can always come to the shrine and call for me, I will be more than happy to be of assistance. After all of this, there’s no way we won’t be pals right?” Atsumu grinned as he opened his arms for Eita to step into. The girl slowly let her tears fall as she held onto him, glad she had someone to comfort her as Atsumu whispered, “We will get through this together. I promise.”

Just as he said those words, a ragged voice rang across the mountain, shaking them to their cores as the single name tore through a man’s throat.

“IWA-CHAN!”

Atsumu pricked up his ears as he hurried to the source of the yell, flattening himself at the ledge to see who it was when he cursed, “Dammit, how did they manage to survive that?”

When Eita scrambled to join him, she saw in horror that the leading officers of the Seijoh army were still alive, Oikawa among them as the man howled for his best friend. His fingers were cold from having dug through the snow, tears running down his face as he finally gave up and instructed his men to move. All of them began heading towards the Imperial City where the army had headed hours before, Eita scrambling to her feet as she ignored the pain blooming in her stomach and swung herself onto Azumane’s back.

“Er, home is that way,” Atsumu started as Eita said, “I have to do something.”

“Didn’t you see them? They popped out of the snow, like daisies!”

“Didn’t you say we’re in this together?” Eita smiled as Atsumu sighed, reverting back to his fox form as he leapt onto Azumane’s back with Hinata in tow as he said, “Well then, let’s go kick some Seijoh asses!”

Eita dug her heels into Azumane’s sides, the horse whinnying as they began the long ride into the Imperial City.

Eita could only hope that they were not too late and that Ushijima would spare her a thought as they rode through the snow.

…

“Are we seriously going to do this?” Yahaba groaned as he popped the lions’ head onto his neck. Mad dog was trying his best not to growl at a dog nearby, Matsukawa yanking him back as they stuffed their bodies into the lion outfit. A parade was happening in a few hours, the city alive with lights and music as the city celebrated their victory against Seijoh. Oikawa had taken off to the palace to get ready for the main event, leaving them to capture some innocent civilians and stealing their performance gear for the night.

Attacking the Emperor during the parade sounded like fun.

“Are you sure we can even pull this off? I don’t even know how to dance in this damn thing!” Yahaba groaned as Makki slipped an arm around his neck, “Come on now, Yahaba. You’re supposed to be the next boss, the next in line if anything happens to Oikawa. How are you going to take the throne if you don’t even know how to do a dance?”

Matsun snickered at the sight of Yahaba scowling as he pulled on the mask onto his head, ignoring how he felt like he was slowly suffocating before snapping at them, “Alright! Let’s get this show on the road!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanna say the phrase "Now let's go kick some Hunnie buns so bad" here arghhh!!! I hope it doesn't sound so bad when Seijoh is replaced with it.
> 
> All comments and kudos are appreciated and welcomed!


	15. Kidnapping of the Emperor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally got the motivation to finish writing this so thought I should post a chapter today instead of tomorrow as a celebration! Thinking of writing other Disney one-shots for these boys (with other ships) and maybe a few Barbie related ones (I can't stop thinking of UShiSemi and Barbie and the Island Princess ahh!) but we'll see.
> 
> Enjoy!

When Eita found her way into the city, night had fallen, and the city was alive with dancing and singing. Celebrations were in full swing as people laughed and cheered at the performances being held all across the city; lanterns hung from balconies to criss-cross over each other and illuminate the streets underneath them. People were walking about in kimonos, women laughing with their partners as they held hands. It was almost like the summer festivals Eita used to love back at home where she would eat a lot of candy apples.

Now, she saw the festivities as a warning for what was to come.

“Hey, watch it!” a man yelled as Eita rode through the streets, not caring that she nearly rammed into several people. Some of the partygoers swore at her, men shouting at how uncivilised she was as she weaved through the crowd in search for her comrades.

“Where is the main street?” she groaned as she turned into yet another street filled with food. As much as her stomach rumbled, she had to find the others before it was too late. Already she had a sinking feeling about what Seijoh might be up to, using the crowd to their advantage and possibly attacking the Emperor in broad daylight.

“Eita, I hear them coming from a few streets to the north. If you go down that alley, you should meet them,” Atsumu said as he pricked up his ears, Eita kicking her heels into Azumane’s side as they rode down the streets. After almost trampling a man who was selling cabbages, Eita saw the parade going in full swing on the main square, a bearded man taking the lead of the procession as he said, “Make way, for the heroes of the Allied Nations!”

There was a round of cheers and squeals as the crowd cheered for Ushijima and his group. Suga rode at the head of it, smiling and waving as best as he could. Eita could clearly see that he was putting up a façade, the smile not quite reaching his eyes and his grin slightly too wide. Ushijima was silent as usual, looking ahead as his troops came from behind. Most of the men were all but dragging their feet on the ground, the Shiratorizawa flag close to dragging on the cobbled stones as Goshiki looked forlorn. Even as women screamed his name, Goshiki only stared at the ground, sniffling as Tendou hissed for him to keep himself together. Shirabu wasn’t any better, glaring at the ground as though trying to tell them to shut up as Eita made her way towards them.

“Semisemi?!” Tendou yelped as Eita rode past them coming up next to Ushijima as some of the ongoers shouted.

“What the hell is a woman doing with the Captain?!”

“How rude of her to interrupt such an important event!”

“How did her parents raise her?”  
  


“Dishonor on her family!”

Eita ignored the taunts as Ushijima whipped his head to face her. His face was stoic except for his eyes; she could make out that he was surprised that she was there as he steadied Yamagata.

“What are you doing…”

“Seijoh is alive! They’re in the city!”

“Impossible. No one can withstand an avalanche, not even Oikawa.”

“I saw them in the mountains, you have to believe me!” Eita begged as Ushijima snapped, “Semi, stay out of the way.”

Before he could move Yamagata forward, Eita swung Azumane in front of them, the procession coming to a halt as Ushijism reined Yamagata forward. Suga stopped up ahead to see the commotion, his eyes widening at seeing Eita there as Eita snarled, “You said you trusted Semi Eita. Just because I am a woman now, doesn’t mean you can’t trust me.”

A pair of guards rode towards her, both of them grabbing onto her arms and moving her aside for the procession to continue. Eita recognised them as Tanaka and Nishinoya from when Suga had visited her village, both of them looking pretty mad about what she had done as Tanaka snapped, “Look, I know you’re a beauty and all but you have to respect the rules!”

“Ryu, don’t manhandle her too much! You don’t want to hurt her!” Nishinoya grunted as Eita snapped, “Let go of me!”

“No can do. The Emperor is seeing Captain Ushijima now and you won’t interrupt the ceremony, got it?” Tanaka snapped as the crowd cheered, the procession having had come to a halt as Emperor Daichi walked out of the palace doors, accompanied by a group of maidens in waiting. Eita thought it a bit odd her still had concubines but considering Suga wouldn’t be able to bear hi a child, she guessed he had no other choice. The man was dressed in orange and black, a crown situated on top of his dark hair as Suga got down from his horse. He smiled as he bowed to his Emperor, the Emperor dipping a head at him as Ushijima came forward to bow down at him.

“Your Majesty, we have returned with the success of defeating Seijoh,” Ushijima said as the crowd cheered his name. Eita couldn’t stop her heart from screaming that something was about to happen as Tanaka and Nishinoya tried to drag her away from her friends as Emperor Daichi spoke, “Thank you for your service. The Allied Nations can now rest at peace tonight thanks to your brave warriors. Your father would be very proud of you, Captain.”

Before Ushijima could reply, a concubine stepped out from the row and brought a dagger to the Emperor’s neck, screams of horror escaping from the other concubines as Suga shouted, “Guards! Stop her!”

The concubine grinned as she removed her veil and head scared, dropping them onto the ground to reveal brown locks and the grin of a very triumphed Oikawa Tooru.

“Hello there, Dai-chan,” he grinned as the dancing lion behind the procession exploded, the crowd screaming as armed men appeared from within. A few arrows were shot as the crowd dove for cover, some of the soldiers falling to them as Yahaba shot at them, Mad dog running through the crowd with his sword as Matsun and Makki ran towards Oikawa. Oikawa laughed as Ushijima reached for his sword, Oikawa tutting as he pressed the dagger close enough to Daichi’s skin to draw blood.

“Oh no you don’t, Ushiwaka-chan. I’m going to have a little chat with Dai-chan here and I don’t want to be interrupted anytime soon,” he grinned as his comrades joined him, Oikawa dragging Daichi into the palace as Ushijima tried to run after them. Seijoh ran past him, Matsun knocking the butt of his katana into his head as Ushijima reeled from the shock of it, Suga shouting for the guards to get them when they heard the sound of the doors slamming shut. The crowd was in chaos as Oikawa’s manic laughter rang across in the inside of the palace as well as the yells of palace guards getting taken down by Seijoh.

“Daichi!” Suga yelled as he ran to the door, pounding to be let in before sinking to his knees in defeat. The rest of the soldiers had gone to help out, Tendou slowly helping Ushijima to his feet as the Captain swayed.

“Woah, Wakatoshi. You might have a concussion…”

“Now isn’t the time for me to rest,” he snapped as he barked orders for the doors to be busted down. Already Suga had shouted for the men to start ramming the doors down whilst his colleague from earlier was trying his best to calm the crowd down. Even Tanaka and Nishinoya seemed to have forgotten that Eita was there, both of them gaping at how their Emperor had just been kidnapped before their eyes as Eita took the opportunity to ride up the palace steps.

“You deal with this on your end. I and Hinata are going to go on a little adventure,” Atsumu said as he and Hinata leapt off Azumane to run off into the crowd. Eita wished the two all the best as she stopped in front of Suga, jumping down from Azumane as Suga snapped, “Now isn’t the time, Semi-chan…”

“I know. You’re worried about the Emperor but trying to bust down the door won’t save him in time. Come on, I have an idea,” she said as Suga’s eyes widened when Ushijima came up from behind. He had a hand pressed to his temple as he tried not to topple over, his stoic face now evidently in pain as he said, “What do you plan to do?”

“Semi! What on earth are you doing here?!” Goshiki yelled as he abandoned the operation of busting down the door. Tendou joined him followed by a flustered Shirabu, all three of them surrounding her in no time as Eita told them her plan. Tendou began to grin as both Shirabu and Goshiki turned a bright red, Suga almost giggling as Shirabu snapped, “Oh no, there is no way I’m gonna…”

“Oh yes, you will. And you will look good in it once they are done with you,” Suga grinned as he grabbed Shirabu by the hand and began dragging him down the stairs. Ushijima ordered for the others to continue breaking down the door as they followed Suga into down, the man leading them into a narrow street before coming to a shop named “Yamaguchi Tailors”. He rapped his knuckles on the door, a squeak coming from inside as the door slowly crept open when a knife was almost thrust into Suga’s face.

‘Hey, Tadashi! Chill! It's me!” Suga yelped as the door cracked open to reveal a young man with a shock of dark green hair and a face full of freckles. His eyes were teary as he barrelled into Suga, sobbing at how they had managed to get into this mess in the first place.

“Tadashi, are you alive?!” a woman’s voice wafted into the room as Tadashi opened the door a bit more to reveal a petite woman with a bob of blond hair. Goshiki blushed at the sight of her as Tendou whistled, the poor woman shrieking as Tadashi curled his arms around her protectively, “Back off! She’s my wife!”

“Come on, now isn’t the time,” Suga groaned as Ushijima said, “Sorry for the inconvenience but we need your help.”

This led to the Yamaguchi’s squeaking even more, almost prostrating themselves before the captain and thanking him for his endeavours as Suga tried to calm them down enough to explain what is going on.

“What are you going to do about Daichi? I mean Seijoh is really strong and if even Shiratorizawa can’t beat them… how are we even going to save Daichi???” Tadashi yelped as Suga clamped a hand on his shoulder, “We’re getting to that, Tadashi. We’re going to save Daichi and we need you and Yachi’s help for it.”

“Sure but what can we do? We’re just tailors and dressmakers, we don’t have any weapons….” Yachi started as Eita stepped forward and gave them a low bow, “I apologise for giving you such a request, but you may be the only ones who can save the Emperor’s life.”

Both husband and wife stood silent as Eita bowed low, Suga gently patting for her to straighten herself as Tadashi finally said, “Alright, what can we do?”

“Well first things first; please take the measurements of these young gentlemen and make them into the most stunning women in the land,” Suga grinned as both Tadashi and Yachi split into identical smiles.

“Oh, this might actually be really fun,” they grinned as Tendou, Shirabu and Goshiki prayed they haven’t made the wrong choice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The part where they get told they have to dress up as girls was the best part for me haha!


	16. Ugly concubines?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had a hell of a time writing about them dressing up as girls and Shirabu raging about it haha!
> 
> Enjoy!

“I will kill you once this is over,” Shirabu snarled at Suga as the man tried to cover his grin. He himself was dressed in a kimono and with his feminine features and a grey wig to match, he looked almost like a girl if he didn’t open his mouth and speak. Shirabu scowled as Tadashi finished tying up the obi for him, pulling it for the extra measure as Shirabu squeaked.

“Sorry! I just want to make sure it's tight enough,” Tadashi apologised as Tendou snickered from the corner, “Oho, you love beautiful, Shira-chan.”

“Tendou, shut the hell up!” Shirabu snapped as the man finally finished his outfit and Yachi moved in to do their make-up. Shirabu was close to exploding at the idea of them having to go in as women but since they didn’t have much of a choice, this was the best they could come up with.

Goshiki let out a squeak as Tadashi finished up with him as well, the poor boy blushing hard under his make up as his eyes moved over to Shirabu. Goshiki gasped before turning a bright red, turning his head away in embarrassment as he muttered, “You look pretty good, Shirabu-senpai.”

“Now now, if you want to complement each other, do it once we finish the mission. You sure this will work, right, Semisemi-chan?” Tendou asked as the woman in question nodded, “Yes, it will. As long as they don’t lose their tempers.”

“We won’t!” Shirabu and Goshiki snapped together as Yachi finally managed to finish with Shirabu’s make-up. The smaller woman smiled as Shirabu did a twirl in his outfit, Goshiki turning redder by the minute as Suga clapped his hands together, “Alright, children! Listen up to the plan!’

Eita stepped forward, her hair extensions falling past her shoulders as Yachi squeaked at how pretty she was. Even Tadashi couldn’t tear his eyes away from her as she told them her plan, Suga nodding with approval as she said, “We will be infiltrating the palace as concubines. Suga-san will sneak us inside before going with Tanaka and Nishinoya to gather the troops based in the barracks on the west side of the palace. Our job is to extract the Emperor and bring him to safety.”

“Easier said than done. You think those guys would actually believe that we’re women?” Shirabu scowled as Tadashi grinned, “Oh they will. Trust me.”

…

Matsukawa had never had a girlfriend his entire life. He hadn’t had the time to spare for one considering there were drills to be done and training with Oikawa and the others since they were children, preferring to be in the company of his fellow soldiers and friends. If he could, he would have married Makki since they were so close, they literally spent nearly every waking moment together. While Oikawa and Iwaizumi were a public pair, Matsukawa thought he might finally pop the questions if they actually won this war.

That didn’t mean he was immune to women.

“You guys guard the doors while I have a little chat with Dai-chan,” Oikawa had winked earlier before slamming the doors leading to the balcony that overlooked the square. The Emperor would normally conduct his speeches over there to the people and now, he would be facing the crowd as a prisoner. Oikawa had practically licked his lips at the thought of making the Emperor bow to him, leaving his friends to stand and wait. Yahaba and Mad dog were tapping their feet on the ground, Yahaba groaning at how he just wanted to get this over with and go home while Mad dog looked like he needed to run amok even more.

“Hey, Makki. Once this is over, let’s get a house somewhere far from Seijoh and live together.”

“Hmmm, ok.”

“Just the two of us, permanently.”

“Heck, we’ve been living together all this time. It doesn’t make much of a difference anyway,” Makki grinned as Matsun felt his heart flutter. He didn’t know when he had fallen so hard for his best friend, but he knew that he was the person he wanted to be with forever.

There was the sound of a yelp followed by a string of giggles as Yahaba quickly brought up his bow, arrow already notched as Mad dog growled. Matsun’s hand went to his belt, unsheathing his sword as Makki did the same, all of them turning to the source as Yahaba shouted, “Who’s there?!”

The giggles increased in volume as four women stepped out, dressed in beautiful kimonos as Yahaba immediately dropped his bow to his side. The man was already blushing at the sight of them, always having been one to toy with women despite already having Mad Dog who found his antics very annoying. Even Matsun felt himself blushing as the maiden with brown hair hid her face behind her fan, his face growing hot as Makki elbowed him in the ribs to grin, “Concubines.”

“Hmm, as if he doesn’t already have an angel by his side,” Matsun snickered as the brown-haired maiden nearly tripped. Yahaba immediately hurried towards her, slinging his bow over his back as he caught her just in time before she fell on her face.

“Um… I’m sorry,” she muttered as she tried not to blush. Yahaba slowly tilted her head with his fingers, earning a growl from Mad dog as he smiled, “Well hello there young lady. And where are you headed to?”

The maiden was trembling so much as she was brought to her feet, Mad Dog’s growls increasing in volume as Yahaba smiled, “Don’t worry. You’re safe with us.”

“Really mister? I’m glad,” one of the taller maidens, a woman with a lithe figure and bright red hair snickered as she covered her fan with her hands. The woman next to her was more beautiful; long ash-blonde hair cascading off her shoulders and her obi clenched around her waist to show a slim waist.

Somehow, the woman’s face reminded Matsukawa of someone.

“Yahaba, get back from them,” Mad Dog snarled as he marched forward, his hand reaching out to push back the black-haired woman as Yahaba scowled, “Come on now, Kyoutani! Now isn’t the time to get aggressive around women!”

“There’s something off about them! What would concubines be doing in the palace now?!” Mad Dog snapped as something rolled onto the ground and stopped at their feet. Yahaba gaped at the sight of the fallen apple, half of it gone as Mad Dog growled when the brown-haired maiden growled, “I am sick of this shit!”

The next thing they knew, Yahaba had been clocked in the jaw, the man sailing through the air to slam into a pillar as the maiden whipped around, dodging Mad Dog’s lunge as she snatched his arm and pulled him over her in a throw, her back leg sweeping his feet from under him as he joined Yahaba in a heap. She snarled as she reached for her hair, pulling it off to reveal brown short hair and a male face as he yelled.

“I am a man and I will die a man!” he yelled as he charged, his comrades doing the same as Yahaba shouted, “Get them!”

Matsun and Makki barely had time to react as Goshiki ran into them, his hand aimed for a punch at Makki’s face as the strawberry haired soldier barely managed to dodge. Matsun was met with flying bananas as Tendou grinned, his hand reaching into his kimono to throw them like boomerangs for them to sock Matsun in the face. He stumbled before slipping on a banana peel, his head colliding with the ground as he heard the ash-blonde hair girl yelled, “Ushijima, go!”

“No!” Matsun yelled as Ushijima barrelled past them, throwing open the doors and running up the flight of steps as he tried to reach his Emperor. Matsun tried to slash at Tendou only for the man to jump aside, aiming a swift kick to his back as the man collapsed onto the floor. Already his head was swimming as Tendou’s grin hovered over him, his hand coming down to his neck as Matsun felt his vision fade.

“Sorry, Seijoh. We win.”

…

Ah, how long had Oikawa dreamed of doing this?

As he watched the crowd gasping at their Emperor being held hostage, Oikawa was close to laughing in glee at the situation. Emperor Daichi remained stoic, his face unyielding as Oikawa ran a finger across his jaw, smirking as he flicked his finger against his cheek.

“Neh, Dai-chan. Your walls and armies have fallen. Even your beloved Shiratorizawa was unable to stop me. Now, bow to me and surrender the allied nations to Seijoh!”

Daichi didn’t say a word as Oikawa reached for his katana, unsheathing the weapon to bring it to his throat as the man said, “The wind can howl, but it cannot make a mountain bow down to it. And as the leader of Karasuno, we will never bow to anyone else. We will always climb to the top and stand on the summit to see the view on the other side.”

Pride… pride… why did they all have pride?

Why didn’t anyone want to acknowledge his own pride, the prince of a fallen nation who rose up from the ashes to take back what was his?

“Dai-chan, last chance. Bow to me or you can kiss your head goodbye,” Oikawa snarled, his pretty face contorting into a frown as he pressed the blade into Daichi’s throat. The metal kissed the skin hard enough to draw blood, Daichi never letting out a sound when he heard a voice rumbling from behind them, “No matter how capable you lot may be, you’ll see that we will never weaken.”

Oikawa whipped his head around to see Ushijima Wakatoshi standing on the steps, his katana drawn in front of him as he saw his men defeated on the ground behind him. A feral scream ripped through Oikawa’s throat as he lifted his katana, aiming it for the back of Daichi’s neck as he screamed, “Don’t you ever forget my worthless pride, Ushiwaka!”

As he swung down the sword, Daichi let out a blow into his abdomen, the Grand King choking as he nearly dropped his sword. The motion was fast enough to stop Daichi from getting beheaded as he scrambled back, Ushijima standing in front of him with his hand thrown out as Oikawa snarled, “Come on now. Give me your precious emperor.”

“Not while we can help it,” a voice said as a red-haired man appeared next to Daichi. Oikawa was slightly confused at why he was wearing women’s clothing and had a face full of makeup, stalling him long enough for Ushijima to charge and aim a slash at him. Oikawa barely managed to duck to the side as he felt the sword slice the air next to his ear when he saw the redhead bowing to Daichi and grabbing him by the waist.

“Hang on tight!” he yelled as he grabbed the silk scarf from his neck and used it to slid down the rope that hung across the square, knocking off the lanterns attached to it in the process as Daichi let out a yelp of surprise. Oikawa barely had time to yell as he was attacked by Ushijima once again, the captain pining him to the ground as he yelled, “Back off, Ushiwaka-chan!”

He clamped down his teeth into the man’s hand, Ushijima yelling as Oikawa kicked his feet from under him. Ushijima dodged it only to be clocked in the head by Oikawa, clutching his temple as Oikawa landed a punch into his jaw, followed by a series of punches into his face as he snarled, “I worked too hard for today to fail. I lost my childhood, my family, my lover, my men… today… I will defeat you!”

Oikawa reached into his pocket for his knife, bringing it to Ushijima’s chest as the man trembled underneath him. Oikawa thought he might have seen a flash of fear in the man’s eyes but instead, the words he spoke to him nearly tore Oikawa’s resolve.

“You’re an efficient soldier. If you had been born in the Allied Nations or Shiratorizawa, you may have had a chance to be nurtured in fertile soil instead of the barren soil of Seijoh. You did well leading your men this far and I applaud you for that. But the reason you will lose here today is that you’re weak, and we are stronger.”

“Don’t… don’t you ever forget my worthless pride!” Oikawa screamed as he brought the dagger down, the tip almost tearing through Ushijima’s armour when a whistling sound pierced through the air. The dagger clattered onto the floor as Oikawa stared at his now empty hand, his head turning to the archer who had shot the arrow to meet brown eyes and ash-blonde hair.

“Leave him alone.”

It was him, the soldier who had blasted his army to oblivion and took away his beloved Iwa-chan. Anger bubbled in his chest as Oikawa got up to his feet, picking up his fallen katana as he sneered, “The soldier from the mountain eh? I will have so much fun tearing your apart."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't tell me no one thought that Yahaba looked a bit like a Titan from AOT when he was trying to get the ball from Shimizu in the anime haha! Can't get the idea out of my head for that one.


	17. Forgiveness and Gratitude

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, time has passed so fast and only three chapters to go. Hope you guys enjoyed this wild ride! I had so much fun writing these series and I'm glad to see people enjoying reading it as well. Mulan is a show I really love and can identify with out of the Disney films and with the Haikyuu boys in the mix, hope it made things even better.
> 
> Honestly, this has to be one of my most favourite scenes and music in the entire movie so here you guys go!
> 
> Song : [Gratitude](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPlr-tqcw-8&list=PL4E584B5F28FE5A05&index=32)
> 
> Just a random thought but I just started an OsaSuna and SakuAtsu Frozen au haha! (just for the heck of listening to the twins singing "Do you wanna build and snowman". Check it out here under [Frozen Heart](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24160882/chapters/58181992)
> 
> Enjoy!

Ushijima watched from his spot as Eita circled Oikawa, the man grinning savagely as he reached into his kimono and brought out a dagger. Eita didn’t flinch even as the man lunged at her, his weapon aimed for her heart as she stepped aside, wincing ever so slightly from the stomach wound she had received the day before. Ushijima had no idea how she was able to move in such a position; he himself wasn’t immune to pain and Eita was taking it all too well as she brought her arm to crunch Oikawa in the nose, the man falling back as he nearly tumbled over the balcony.

Oikawa snarled as he let out a kick connecting with her leg, Eita crying out in pain as he whipped her hair back, only to realise it was a wig. The distraction was enough for Eita to grab his wrist and twist it around, knocking the knife out of his grasp for it to clatter onto the ground. Ushijima moved to snatch it up, his eyes moving to glare at Oikawa as the man chuckled, blood running from his nose as Ushijima held the dagger in front of him, “Give it up, Oikawa. It's over.”

“Never. I will never surrender.”

“Your men have been defeated. What more do you want?”

Oikawa laughed as he quivered underneath Ushijima’s gaze, his eyes raking across the man as he snarled, “Your people desecrated and destroyed my homeland. Your father killed my father and left me an orphan when my mother went mad with grief. You made sure that we would never recover, but we proved you wrong. Now, I want you to experience the same hell as I did.”

Oikawa flicked his hand as he snatched Eita’s wrist, swinging her so she would be hanging off the balcony as she yelped, the only thing keeping her from slipping was Oikawa’s hands on hers. The crowd below cried out as the girl dangled from the balcony, her hands barely able to grip on as Oikawa laughed, “How about this, Ushiwaka-chan? You bring me the head of your Emperor and I let your precious princess go! Eh?” Oikawa sneered as Ushijima took a single step forward, his eyes wide with fear as he laughed, “Even the moronic Ushibaka has romantic feelings for someone? What the heck!”

“Just kill him, Ushijima!” Eita shouted as Oikawa clicked his tongue, his fingers digging into her skin as she groaned. Her grip was loosening on the edge even as she heard the sounds of soldiers coming in, some of them trying their best not to panic as the Grand King threatened to throw someone off the balcony.

“Ushijima!” Eita yelled as Ushijima stepped forward, Oikawa cackling as his hand moved ever so slightly, “Your mistake.”

He released his grip off Eita, the girl freefalling as Ushijima yelled. He ran forward, rushing to snatch her hand only to find her already falling, her mouth opened in a wide O. Just before he could let out a cry, Ushijima gawked as a single shape floated through the sky, snatching Eita before she hit the ground. The beast took flight, Eita clutching into its back as it soared through the air. It was a large fox with silver colourings; its brown eyes glared at Oikawa as he yelped, scrambling to get away from it as Ushijima snatched him by the collar and slammed him into the nearest pillar. The king grunted as he collided with the pillar, his back cracking as Ushijima landed a punch into his gut, making him squirm as Oikawa growled, “Do it. I would rather die than surrender to you.”

The knife that Ushijima had taken from Oikawa remained in his hand as he slowly brought it up, the Grand King barely even flinching as he brought it to his throat. Ushijima’s eyes remained expressionless as Oikawa closed his eyes, begging for a swift end when he hear the knife clatter onto the ground, Ushijima kicking it aside as he whirled him around and pulled his arms behind his back, preventing the King from breaking free as he snarled, “I will let the Emperor deal with you.”

He marched Oikawa off the balcony to the doors. Most of the men had been wrapped up by Karasuno soldiers, Tanaka and Nishinoya making sure Mad dog doesn’t try and bite them, even pulling a muzzle around his mouth as he tried to snap at them. A man was tending to Yahaba’s wounds, the soldier’s mouth having been split open and several purple bruises littering his face. Matsun and Makki didn’t look much better either; Shirabu was busy tying them up with what remained of his kimono, the boy growling about kicking their asses even more once they get thrown into jail as Goshiki kept watch.

“Ushijima-san, you’ve got him!” Goshiki yelped as the Grand King bowed his head low. The rest of the soldiers didn’t dare to look at their leader as the Karasuno soldiers dragged them out of the palace, most of them letting themselves get dragged out as Matsun and Makki looked at their King. Oikawa had never looked so defeated in his entire life; his pride had been crushed by letting him live instead of dying an honourable death.

Once the Shiratorizawa soldiers stepped out, the crowd that had somehow stuck around after the whole affair clapped and cheered as the heroes stepped forward. Goshiki was trying his best to smile and wave while Shirabu ducked behind him, not wanting to be seen dressed up as a girl when Tendou waved from below, Emperor Daichi standing next to his side rubbing his waist when they heard a yell coming from the other side of the square.

“Daichi!” Suga yelled as he rushed towards his lover, locking him in an embrace as Daichi swung him around. They didn’t care about the others as they locked themselves into a kiss, Suga almost tearing into the Emperor’s robes with the ferocity of his hands clawing into the fabric until Daichi finally pulled him off, red with embarrassment that everyone in the kingdom now knew that they were lovers (it wasn’t as though they didn’t know, the people just decided to keep it quiet).

“Suga, later,” Daichi chided as Tendou faked coughed into his sleeve. The man still wore his kimono, although he didn’t seem to mind that some men were ogling at him as he escorted the Emperor up the steps, his eyes trained on the defeated Grand King until he finally stood in front of him. Oikawa refused to look up, training his brown eyes to the ground as Daichi sighed, “Look at me, Oikawa.”

“Why should I? I’ve already lost my pride as a king, I don’t want to look into the eyes of the man that will kill me,” he spat as Daichi sighed, moving to snatch up his chin as Oikawa yelped.

“I’m not going to kill you. It isn’t in my ways to execute someone.”

“I threatened your kingdom, killed your soldiers. I killed General Ushijima! What’s the point of keeping me alive despite all the crimes I have done! I’ve lost Iwa-chan as well…” at this point, Oikawa could barely hold back his tears as he sobbed, “I don’t think I can live without him.”

“Hey, Shittykawa.”

“For some reason, I can still hear his voice…”

“Tooru!”

Oikawa snapped up his head to see the celestial beast from earlier dropping a figure onto the ground, the man wriggling out of its claws to run as best as he could towards Oikawa. Oikawa felt himself cry as Ushijima released him from his hold (after Emperor Daichi assured him that it would be totally safe) to rush to his lover and hug him, sobbing into his dirty armour as Iwaizumi wrinkled his nose, “Hey Shittykawa. Whats up with the outfit?”

“What? You don’t like me in a dress?” Oikawa winked as Iwaizumi stammered, “I never…”

“Shut it. Holy shit, I thought I lost you,” Oikawa whispered as he hugged him, Iwaizumi letting him hold him tight as Daichi coughed into his hand, “Ahem. If you haven’t forgotten, you’re about to be sentenced.”

Iwaizumi dropped to his knees, forcing Oikawa to do the same as the Emperor stood before them, “Emperor Daichi, we have caused much trouble to your lands and waged war that claimed the lives of innocents. While we might not be able to bring back the dead, if it pleases you, you can have my head.”

“Iwa-chan!” Oikawa snapped as Iwaizumi growled, “Shut it, Oikawa. It’s the only way.”

“Who ever said something about chopping off heads?” Daichi mused as both of them looked at him in confusion.

“Don’t you want to execute us or something after everything we did?” Oikawa gaped as Daichi sighed, “You two lost so much as children. It’s only fair you would retaliate by trying to obtain revenge. I do not pride myself as a man who wishes to claim the lives of others, so what I propose is this. You will go back to Seijoh and never return to the Allied Nations ever again. You and your men are hereby banned from ever crossing our borders. You will be left alone in Seijoh but if you ever plan to attack us again, rest assured, we will not hold back.”

Both men stared at the Emperor as Oikawa began to sob, sinking his head as low as a King would never would as he whispered, “Thank you for sparing our lives, Emperor Daichi.”

“With pleasure. And now if you excuse me, I have some heroes to celebrate,” Emperor Daichi said as both men were grabbed and escorted out of the palace, Iwaizumi and Oikawa barely exchanging any words as the soldiers dragged them. The rest of the Seijoh commanders didn’t speak a word as they were escorted off the palace grounds, although Mad dog did give a few snarls at Daichi, who sighed at him before turning to smile at the young woman who was standing at the side of the steps the entire time. Ushijima sucked in a breath as he watched Eita walk up, Suga guiding her as she winced, the crowd parting for her to walk towards the Emperor as Daichi smiled at her, “Semi Eita, I believe?”

“Yes, your majesty.”

“You have committed a grave sin. Disguising as your father, running amok with men who could have hurt you if they discovered your gender, possibly endangering your fellow soldiers by causing an avalanche. You may have also caused some damage to the palace.” Eita flinched at his words, fully aware of what she had done when she saw a shadow falling over her, her eyes lifting up to see Emperor Daichi bowing before her, his hands at his sides as he said, “But I want to thank you, for saving my life and us all.”

Eita gasped as the others began to do the same. Suga did the same, bowing low as Ushijima bowed, Shirabu and Goshiki gawking for a bit before doing the same. As Eita turned to face the crowd, she watched as Tendou smiled and bowed to her, the entirety of the crowd doing the same until the entire sea of bodies bowed low to her. Eita was struck at the gesture, her heart beating against her chest as she thought of how insane it was.

A crowd bowing to a girl?

An emperor bowing to her?

“Eita. You deserve it after everything you have done for us,” Suga smiled as he reached up to wrap her in a hug. Daichi seemed a little miffed he was hugging a girl, his lover giving him a wink when Tendou rushed up the steps to do the same, hugging Eita tight as he howled, “Semisemi! Don’t go!”

Goshiki joined in the fray as he hugged the group, Suga yelping as Shirbau begrudgingly hugged them from the back, Tendou moving to give him some space as Goshiki bawled his eyes out. Ushijima watched a few feet away, eying the group as Tendou called, “Hey, Wakatoshi! Come in for a group huddle will you?!”

Ushijima remained where he was as the group finally parted, Tendou wiping a stray tear from his eye as Goshiki full out sobbed, “Semi-san, will we ever see you again?”

Now that she was dismissed from the army, she will have to return to her life as a girl in the village. She didn’t know if she could ever go back to the life of waiting on people and being in her parents, not being in the outdoors and fighting with her friends.

Despite all of that, she knew it was time to go home.

Somewhere from below, a horse neighed as it trotted up the steps. Azumane came up to stand next to its owner, allowing her to pat its muzzle as Eita noticed a cricket and fox hiding in the small pouch on Azumane’s side. Atsumu gave her a wink and Hinata chirped quietly as Ushijima came up to her, his eyes darting to the side as he tried to hide a faint blush on his cheeks.

Eita suddenly felt sadness wash over her for deceiving him this entire time and having to leave him like this.

“Semi.. I… you… you did great,” he said, his words stammering out slightly as Tendou chuckled from the back. Eita smiled as she bowed to him, Ushijima not wanting to look at her as she said, “Thank you for taking care of me, Ushijima-san.”

She didn’t dare look at him in the eye as she got onto Azumane, giving him a kick in the sides as he took off down the steps, the crowd roaring and cheering as they rode off into the night, Ushijima watching as Eita disappeared as Daichi gave him a pat on the shoulder.

“Wakatoshi-kun, you don’t meet a girl like that in every dynasty. Go get her; you’re officially on holiday now.” The Emperor gave him a wink as Suga rushed to his side, grabbing onto the Emperor as he shouted for celebrations to begin. As everyone headed into the palace to celebrate, Ushijima could only think of the girl who had disappeared into the night, her warm smile forever etched into his heart as he smiled to himself.

It's about time he talked to his mother about getting an arranged marriage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't want to end them getting executed and what not even though they did so much shit but hope this satisfies you guys!
> 
> Also, I'm not that cruel to kill of Iwa-chan! He's one of my favourite characters and just wanted to leave you guys in suspense about it fufu.
> 
> This story will be concluding over the weekend so stay tuned for the grand finale!


	18. Return home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had so much fun writing this chapter and I'm really sad this story is ending. Writing this has reminded me so much of my childhood and I will miss these characters shenanigans and mad adventures but all good stories have to end right?
> 
> This was one of my favourite chapters to write and I hope you guys enjoy it to the max!
> 
> If its good news to you guys, I'm writing two other Disney Aus based on Frozen (the Miya Twins) and   
> Hercules (BokuAka cause why not, hey hey hey!) so don't be too bummed out about this ending! The links to the two of them are here so check them out if you're interested!
> 
> Hercules au: [The Adventures of the Hero Bokuto Koutarou](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24194803/chapters/58277812) BokuAka centric
> 
> Frozen au : [Frozen Heart](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24160882/chapters/58181992) SakuAtsu, OsaSuna centric
> 
> Enjoy!

Atsumu knelt before the rest of the Inarizaki gods, who sat on a dais in front of him. Their leader, Kita Shinsuke was seated in the middle, Osamu on his left and Aran to his right. Suna yawned from his perch next to Osamu, grumbling something about wanting to eat pineapple pizza as Osamu lightly pinched him to shut him up.

“Tell me, Atsumu, what were you thinking in summoning your brother into the human world and transforming into his celestial self?” Kita groaned as he tried not to smack himself in the face with his fan. Out of all the things the twins had done, this was the last thing he had expected him to do. Revealing their true nature to the humans was something a god should never do and doing it in front of a crowd to boot; that was almost a death sentence to Atsumu.

Almost.

“I did what had to be done. If I hadn’t, Eita would have died and we would have failed our duty as the Inarizaki gods, protectors of the Semi family.”

“And what was the point of asking your brother to save her when you could have done so?”

“I was rescuing Iwaizumi from that hellhole of a mountain! It took me ages to find him!” Atsumu groaned, remembering how cold his nose had felt hours afterwards from nosing through the snow trying to find the man and bringing him back to the Imperial City. The man had barely even been moving until Atsumu worked some of his magic on him, making sure he couldn’t remember anything about them as he flew them back to the city. Hinata had been chirping the entire time about being able to fly, Atsumu wishing he could see the smile on his face all the time and bring him for more joy rides.

“At least Atsumu fulfilled his duty,” Aran piped up as Kita sighed, “After breaking so many of the rules! I don’t even know if you can even stay at your current position right now, Atsumu after breaking all of those rules. Is there anything you have to say for him, Osamu?”

All the gods turned to the older Miya twin, who merely shrugged as he glared at his twin, “I didn’t mind helping him. at least he let me and Suna have our honeymoon in peace while it lasted.”

“Wait, you didn’t tell me you were married!” Atsumu yelped as Osamu shrugged, Kita slamming his fan onto the ground so hard that it actually broke as he yelled, “You two, shut up!”

The twins shut up as Aran tried to calm down his lover, the leader of the gods collecting himself before groaning about having to buy a new fan before turning his eye on Atsumu, “You said you have a proposition on how to sort things out?”

“Make me into a mortal and I will get out of your hair forever. In return, I want you to turn a certain cricket into a human. I know you can do that, Kita-san. It's just a matter whether you wish to.” For the first time since Kita had known him, Atsumu actually looked serious. The rest of them were looking at him as though he had gone mad; Ginjima was gaping at him like he had grown two heads while Oomimi was trying not to laugh, “Miya Atsumu falling in love with a cricket? How original.”

“Ren,” Kita snapped as Atsumu bowed low enough to press his head against the ground, “Yes, it's true that I love him! I know he is a cricket but Shouyou, he’s someone that has a heart that deserves to be shared with others. He’s kind and funny and its been a long time since I felt that a creature deserves a second chance. I don’t know what he did in his past life to become a cricket, but please…”

The other gods watched as Atsumu pressed his head against the ground, his body shaking as he tried not to cry. He didn’t mind being banished from the heavens; sure, he would need to learn how to survive on his own and that’s going to be a challenge since he’s broke and has zero skills but to live while knowing Hinata would die a cricket and not having much longer to live killed him inside.

Slowly, he felt his face being tilted up to look into the eyes of Kita, the man smiling as the twin felt a tear fall from his eyes.

“Atsumu, your resolve is so strong on this young one. How can I not grant this request?”

Atsumu let out a thanks as he bowed low, moving out of the hall to tell the good news to Hinata.

He was excited to know how Hinata looked like in human form.

As he walked out to the veranda where he had left the small cricket, his eyes fell on a mop of bright orange hair humming as the birds flew past. Short legs kicked at the pebbles on the ground, a sweet voice filling the air as the person turned to smile at Atsumu. Atsumu almost felt himself die there and then as Hinata walked towards him, the smaller boy coming up to his chin as he slowly wrapped his arms around Atsumu’s middle and buried his face into his chest.

“Hi there, Atsumu-san.”

Atsumu didn’t hesitate as he brought the smaller boy’s lips to his, kissing him hard as Hinata melted into him. Oh, his lips were so soft and he smelled of fresh grass and summer. His body was warm to the touch and for once, Atsumu didn’t have to worry about hugging him and making him fall apart under him, letting his hands roam across Hinata as he smiled into him.

“I love you, Shouyou. I love you so much.”

….

Its been months since Eita had returned to the village. Some heads turned to stare at her, whispering behind her back as she made her way towards the house. Apparently, news of her bravery and heroic acts had yet to reach her hometown, most people just looking at her as the runaway girl who caused dishonour to the family. She ignored them as she finally reached the gates of her home, taking in a deep breath as she dismounted from Azumane and knocked on the door, letting it swing open to reveal her grandmother. She smiled as the older Semi hugged her, sobbing into her granddaughter as Eita smiled, “I’m home, grandma.”

Her grandmother detached from her long enough to let her take Azumane into his stable, the horse whinnying in happiness to finally be home as he munched on some hay. Eita’s mother was nowhere to be found, although she could hear some soft humming coming from the garden as her grandmother nudged her in the ribs.

“Go on. Your father has been worried sick about you,” she said. Eita felt her heart stutter ever so slightly as she walked towards the voice, her father sitting next to the pond underneath the sakura tree, the flowers all but gone except for the single one that had failed to bloom with the others. The lone flower slowly fell from the branch and floated into Suzuki’s hand, the man slowly stroking its petals as Eita whispered, “Father, I’m home.”

The matriarch of the family gasped as he dropped the flower from his hands, tears flowing from his eyes as he reached out to hug his daughter. His hands gripped onto her as he held her tight, relishing the fact to be able to hold onto the daughter he thought he had lost. Eita whispered apologies over and over for running away from home and dishonouring her family, her father finally letting her go to gently cup her face. There was no anger in his eyes, only happiness as he said, “The greatest gift you can give me is by being my daughter. I missed you so much, Eita. So, so much.”

“I missed you too, papa,” Eita whispered, holding onto him when Suzuki suddenly stiffened against her, Eita wondering what was happening when she heard a familiar voice speaking out. Her heart nearly stopped as she recognised who it was, her mind going blank when Ushijima walked into the garden, her grandmother giving them a cheeky wink before disappearing to tell her daughter-in-law the good news as Ushijima bowed to them.

“Semi-san, my name is Ushijima Wakatoshi and I have come to ask for your daughter’s hand in marriage.”

Suzuki had gone blank as Eita gaped at him, her face turning red as Ushijima remained bowing to them, “I have fought by her side for the past few months and have never met a woman as brave as her. She has saved the nation and returned it to its peaceful state. I do not wish for her to remain in a life where she will not be appreciated for her brave acts. So, if you wish, I wish to take her into the Ushijima family as my wife.”

“Ushijima-san…” Eita stuttered as Ushijima rumbled, “Wakatoshi-kun is fine. We are to be wed after all.”

“Ushijima-san, slow down,” Eita stammered as Suzuki finally regained his composure, his eyes darting to the young man bowing before him. He could see the resolve in Ushijima’s eyes on courting his daughter; he knew of the famous Ushijima family, famed warriors who protected their nation for many years. He never thought he might have one as a son in law but…

“Wakatoshi-kun, as much as you love my daughter, how about you discuss with her about it? As her father, I want my daughter to be happy in this relationship. Now, if you excuse me, I will leave you two to talk about it,” Suzuki said, tapping his daughter’s arm before walking back to the house. Eita was sure she heard something along the lines of “My baby girl is all grown up” when Ushijima finally lifted his head, Eita turning red as she stammered, “I…”

“Forgive me for intruding when you have just returned home. Your grandmother insisted that I stayed for tea but I don’t want to intrude.”

“Ah, granny can be a little… excited when it comes to young men.”

“I take it you’ve never had a man in your home before?” Ushijima asked as Eita laughed, “Is that supposed to be funny?”

“I am stating only the truth,” Ushijima said, confused as Eita giggled. She knew Ushijima was often dense when it came to things such as marriage but this…

“If you would like, stay for dinner,” she smiled when she heard her grandmother shouting, “Can he stay here forever?! He’s a hunk after all!”

Eita was surprised to hear a snort coming from Ushijima, the man quickly schooling his features into his usual stoic one before trying to hide a red face.

“Dinner would be great,” he smiled as he offered her a hand to take. Eita blushed as she slowly lowered her hand into his, feeling warmth enveloping it as they walked into the house, Eita praying her family wouldn’t make her look like an idiot in front of her crush as the doors closed behind the couple.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't leave AtsuHina hanging there and since they're gods, anything is possible right?
> 
> Next chapter will be out tomorrow! Stay tuned!


	19. A spring wedding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A month later and several crazy chapters later, we have come to the conclusion of this story. I just want to thank you all so much for sticking with this story until the end and supporting these crazy guys in their journey to the top. While I feel sad this is ending, I'm glad to have able to bring this story to a close on a good note and I hope you all have enjoyed this story as much as I have writing it. 
> 
> Shoutout to those who have commented on this story and really made my day, especially funzybuns for going through all my Disney fics and leaving hilarious comments! I swear your comments really make me laugh when I read them! Not forgetting the rest of you as well for leaving kudos and comments! It helped me to really spur on and write and I hope this story has left you guys feeling a bit happy about it.
> 
> On a side note, the wedding will involve them dressing up in traditional costumes but since I have no idea on how a Japanese wedding is like and I don't want to mess it up, the rest follows a typical Western style wedding. 
> 
> Now, enjoy the last chapter of "You Will Bring Honour to Us All."

**One year later…**

Eita stood in front of the full length mirror, the make up doing very little to hide the blush in her cheeks as her mother sobbed next to her, “My girl, you look so beautiful.”

“Mother, you’ve said that about ten times already,” Eita sighed but at the same time, she herself was scared for what was to happen. After the failed matchmaking ceremony, she never though Ushijima would come and find her only to propose for her. He had wanted to marry her as soon as possible but after much debate between the families, they settled for a six month engagement period.

At long last, the day of her wedding was here.

The Shiromuku kimono wrapped around her did very little in aiding her an easier time in breathing. The headdress weighed a ton, Eita wishing she could just take it of her head and get on with it. Luckily for her, her hair had grown long enough to be tied into a topknot, a pair of white chopsticks with swans dangling from the back pierced through her ash-blonde locks. The watoboshi still lay folded on top of her headdress, to be rolled across her face before she stepped out.

Her grandmother was seated outside, luckily, or else she would be fussing her granddaughter to no end. Suzuki himself waited outside, unable to contain hi tears about giving his daughter away to the new General of the Allied Nations army. Most of Eita’s friends waited outside; Goshiki and Shirabu had come together, which raised some eyebrows considering their hometowns were on opposite sides of Shiratorizawa, Tendou had come in a rather loud outfit that had Ushijima groaning at the sight of it. Even Suga had come in attendance; Daichi had wanted to come but the Emperor coming to visit would cause too much havoc and they didn’t want to hold the wedding in the Imperial palace as much as Suga and Daichi insisted (it was way too extravagant for their tastes).

Even Atsumu and Hinata were in attendance.

After the fox had been dismissed from the heavens, he and a now human Hinata embarked on a journey to travel across the world. Eita had no idea where they got the money to do it, but once in a while she would receive a message from them about where they were at and what they were up to. Ever since Hinata gained the ability to taste, he had been going wild on eating anything he could get his hands on (even fried cricket!) but Atsumu showed no signs of letting him stop.

He had even mentioned in one of his letters that he was going to propose to the small ball of sunshine, which Eita was very happy for him since he deserved happiness after everything he had been through.

Eita’s mother finally finished with her daughter, trying her best not to peck a kiss on the cheek in fear of ruining her makeup. She gently stroked her cheek before moving to give her hand a squeeze, the woman smiling with pride as she smiled, “My girl has grown up so much and is going to be married to such a strong and handsome man. I can’t wait to see how my future grandchildren will look like.”

“Mother!” Eita protested as she thought of how she was going to do it with Ushijima that night as Haruno giggled, moving to the door where her husband waiting, but not before turning to give Eita a thumbs-up as the poor girl nearly combusted. Her father entered the room, a wide smile on his face as he let the veil fall across the face, although he didn’t see much of a point considering Ushijima saw her face all this time.

“Are you ready?” he asked as Eita nodded. He moved to hug her one last time, before she would have to call herself a Ushijima as he smiled, “I am so proud to have you as my daughter. If Wakatoshi-kun ever treats you badly, you can always come home to us.”

“Father…” Eita groaned but she knew her father trusted in her to be husband. The men had bonded a lot over the course of the past few months, Wakatoshi always making sure to meet their needs before his own. Yuki had even go mad at throwing in a comment about letting her join in the next war, much to her son’s horror in which Wakatoshi had calmly replied, “I don’t see the harm in letting women join the army.”

Ever since Eita had joined the army, a few women had been allowed to join as well. Not only did it get to boost morale among the men, but it also symbolised a new era where men and women could be treated as equals and can be seen to be just as capable on the battlefield.

Suzuki offered his hand to Eita, the bride slowly taking her father’s hand as he leads her out, the doors opening wide to reveal sakura blossoms. The world was covered in pink petals as she walked down the aisle, the guests rising to meet the bride and her escort as they walked. Eita smiled at each one of her friends in turn as she passed, seeing the faces of those who had all led her towards Wakatoshi.

Goshiki was trying his best not to cry as Shirabu gave his hand a sharp squeeze. Eita didn’t fail to give them a small wink as the two of them blushed, Shirabu letting go of Goshiki’s hand only for the other to snatch it back. Soft music filled the air as she walked, reminding her of the moment where she had been preparing for her marriage interviews and how it failed miserably.

_Ancestors, hear my plea._

_Help me not to make a fool of me._

_And to not uproot my family tree._

_Keep my father standing tall._

Her father stood tall by her side, his back straight as he led his only daughter down the aisle. After so much troubles, she had finally managed to do something right, her friends smiling down on her as she passed.

Atsumu and Hinata were seated in the row behind Eita’s mother and grandmother. Both men had their hands intertwined, silver bands shining on both of their fingers as Atsumu gave her a wink. Eita had to do her best not to roll her eyes at the gesture as she finally lay her eyes on her soon-to-be-husband.

Wakatoshi looked smart in his montsuki haori hakama, the black kimono adorned with his family crest of an eagle on his back. Tendou smiled from his side as his best man instead of his father, the red head grinning as he sported a red haori as his best friend tried not to die from embarrassment. Eita slowly felt her hand getting released by her father, the older Semi finally releasing her into the clutches of the Ushijima. Wakatoshi’s own mother sat in the same row of seats as Eita’s family. While the older Ushijima may seem stern at first, she was actually a very nice woman who had been concerned on her son being a workaholic for life. Now that she had a daughter-in-law to dot on, she was in even higher spirits to get them to have grandchildren to spoil.

Wakatoshi let the smallest of smiles cross his lips before his face turned stoic again, the priest before them nodding as he officiated the ceremony.

Who knew that having an ex-god as a friend could allow you to have the leader of the Inarizaki gods to officiate your wedding? Kita had been more than happy to do it, saying mortal weddings are much better to do than godly weddings (which hardly happen since gods lived forever and they know what happens when an immortal gets tied down to one person forever).

“We are gathered here today in front of friends and family, to bring this young couple together in holy matrimony. Semi Eita of the Semi family, to be wedded to Ushijima Wakatoshi of the Ushijima family. If anyone has any objections to this union, you may raise your voice in this opinion.”

When no one objected to it, Kita continued, his voice droning as he continued with the script.

“Do you, Ushijima Wakatoshi, take thee, Semi Eita, to be your wedded wife, to have and to hold, for better, for worse, for richer, for poor, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do you part, according to the ordinance of the Gods?”

“I do,” Ushijima rumbled as Tendou presented him a silver ring, the band carved with eagles as he placed it over Eita’s finger.

“And do you, Semi Eita, take thee, Ushijima Wakatoshi, to be your wedded husband, to have and to hold, for better, for worse, for richer, for poor, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do you part, according to the ordinance of the Gods?” Kita asked, his eyes smiling at her as Eita smiled, “I do.”

She took the second ring from Tendou and placed it around Wakatoshi’s finger, the band fitting around it as she felt his warmth radiate her body. Her body tingled as Wakatoshi smiled at her, a small blush creeping up both of their cheeks as Kita said, “And with the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Ushijima, you may kiss the bride.”

The crowd roared with applause as Wakatoshi gently cupped Eita’s face and brought her in for a kiss, Tendou sniffing as Suzuki cried out loud. Goshiki was sobbing as Shirabu handed him a handkerchief, Atsumu and Hinata smiling at them as Eita finally broke away from her husband and began walking down the aisle with him as his wife.

As the cherry blossoms fell around them, Eita begins her new life with Wakatoshi at her side.

A year ago, she never would have thought of being a soldier and saving the Allied Nations from a war by a foreign kingdom.

She would have never thought she would be able to bring honor to her family.

At long last, she had brought honor to her family and the people around her.

_The end._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading this! If you're still interested in reading more Disney fics, check out my other two on my profile (BokuAka Hercules AU and Frozen AU).
> 
> Ave atque vale and until we meet again, sayonara.

**Author's Note:**

> If you liked this story, hit the subscribe button to stay tuned on the latest update.
> 
> All comments and kudos are greatly appreciated and welcomed in these times, really helps motivate me to write!
> 
> Come yell at me on Tumblr or Twitter @runningfromrealitytoanime.


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